Our patients ask about colored braces everyday so here you can learn more about it.
When considering orthodontic treatment, there are more options now than ever before! Orthodontists use modern clear or metal braces that are small and more efficient.
Many of our teen and young patients choose metal or clear “conventional” braces because they customizing them with their favorite colors, school colors, or even their favorite sports team colors bring added fun to the treatment process.
We also see some of our older teen or adult patients opt for dental braces to avoid the extra maintenance that comes with clear aligner, and to have fun with the different colors options.
You can read more about various types of braces and aligners here.
What Does “Braces Color” Actually Mean?
Colored braces have become a popular trend among orthodontic patients, offering a unique way to add personality to their dental treatment. The choice of colored bands can significantly influence the overall look, with options ranging from vibrant red braces to subtle light blue, dark blue, and even navy blue shades. For those who prefer a softer look, light pink and teal are excellent choices, while dark green and purple braces offer a bolder statement.
The color of your teeth plays an important role in this selection, as some colors like white braces might blend in, creating a more discreet appearance. Patients with darker skin tones often find that bright colors like red or dark blue pop more, whereas lighter skin tones might opt for contrasting colors such as dark green or navy blue. This customization extends to braces color combinations, allowing patients to mix and match colors to complement their personal style or even their eye color, enhancing features like blue eyes.
The process of choosing the right color for your braces can be an exciting part of the orthodontic journey. Many orthodontists provide a free consultation, where they can advise on which colors will work best with your complexion and the color of your teeth. For instance, those with blue eyes might find that blue braces create a harmonious look, while others might prefer to create a contrast with colors like light pink or purple braces.
The color choices are not just about aesthetics; they can also influence the wearer’s confidence and comfort during their orthodontic treatment. Whether it’s coordinating with an outfit, a season, or even a mood, the versatility of colored braces allows for a personalized and enjoyable orthodontic experience.
What’s often referred to as colored braces are actually the small elastic ties that are fitted around each metal bracket. These colored rubber bands hold the wires in place and allow the teeth to move to the ideal positions.
The best part about these rubber band colors is that you’re not stuck with the same ties throughout the entire duration of your orthodontic treatment. You can choose to change the color of your ties every time you come in to visit us, which is typically every 8-12 weeks. So there are lots of opportunities to switch up your style!
Some of our color options include:
- Darker colors
- Neutral or clear (skin tone like)
- Grey or silver
- Neon
- White
- Metallic
- Glow-in-the-dark
Please keep in mind that the colors may vary depending on what type of metal braces you have. You can talk to our team about your options during your consultation.
Have Some Fun With Color Combinations
Even though you’re not stuck with the right colors forever, 6-8 weeks can feel like a long time between appointments when you’re ready for a change. Especially if you picked the color of your braces based on a seasonal event, like fourth of July or Halloween.
We encourage patients who have a hard time deciding the right color from the color choices to ask their siblings for braces color ideas. This makes it a fun, family activity and makes everyone excited about the process.
The Best Braces Colors For Any Style
Most of our new patients with traditional braces start out with rainbow colors when they get their metal braces. This gives them a chance to decide which colors they like best over the 8 weeks between their first and second appointment. By the time they come in for their second appointment, they often have their “signature color” picked out, or they use our color wheel of bands to their new favorite colors they’ll wear the next 8 weeks.
Here are some things we tell patients to keep in mind that can help with the decision-making process:
- Darker colored ties often make your teeth look whiter!
- Silver, grey and clear ties will appear more subtle and blend in with the archwire.
- The holidays are a great time to have some fun with your braces! Try green and red for the Christmas season; red, white and blue to celebrate the 4th of July; or even black and orange to get in the spooky spirit this Fall!
Maintaining good oral hygiene by using floss and brushing regularly helps elastic bands maintain their color longer. Bright colors can change over time with food and dental plaque buildup, whereas dark colors are usually less affected by these factors.
Keep It Neutral With Clear Braces
Adults and some teens who prefer a more neutral look often choose clear ceramic braces for their orthodontic treatment. Lighter colors or neutral colors are popular colors for these brackets because they blend in with some skin tones. For patients who are not interested in adding color to their ceramic braces, we use white ligatures or white bands.
Self ligated braces is a type of braces that the braces have gates to hold the wire. You don’t need to have color ties with these braces. These braces could be more hygienic since the color ties collect lots of plaque.
Lingual Hidden Braces
One alternative type of braces are those that are placed behind the teeth – lingual braces . You don’t need color around these braces since they are truly invisible.
Lingual braces similar to Invisalign offer cosmetic orthodontic treatment. There are lots of difference between Invisalign and lingual braces.
Lingual braces costs more than traditional metal braces. Learn more about lingual braces cost.
Aligner or Invisalign Colors
Patients who are interested in invisible treatment most commonly choose aligner or Invisalign. While color options are available for some clear retainers with patterns, most aligners don’t come with color choices. Stickers are available for personalizing aligners, but since our patients change their aligners weekly, most kids don’t opt for this.
For patients with clear aligners that need rubber bands, we offer them colored rubber bands.
At the end of the day, traditional braces with different colors are still very popular. Our orthodontist uses customized metal braces that are digitally positioned on your teeth. We use cutting edge technology that helps reduce the treatment time and increase our efficiency to render high quality care, while keeping the option for you to personalize them with your favorite colors.
Please contact us if you have further questions for Dr. Rooz, our board-certified orthodontist, about color braces. Personalized Orthodontics offer customized care in Sammamish, Issaquah and Bellevue.
Cost of Braces
Insurance companies are covering part of orthodontic treatment cost. Based on your insurance policies you could get a range of $1000 to $5000.