Current Products and Practice

Abstract

Due to an increasing demand for superior aesthetics during fixed appliance treatment, the use of aesthetic brackets has grown in popularity over recent years. Although often requested by patients, aesthetic brackets are not without their disadvantages. This article presents the currently available plastic and ceramic brackets and discusses the potential problems associated with each. Recent advances, introduced by manufacturers in an attempt to overcome their clinical disadvantages, are described.

Keywords:

• Aesthetic brackets
• ceramic/monocrystalline/polycrystalline brackets
• plastic/polycarbonate brackets

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the orthodontic manufacturers and distributors that provided information on their current aesthetic brackets and to Simon Littlewood for providing the clinical photographs.