How Damon Ultima is different from the braces you remember
If you had braces years ago, you almost certainly had traditional twin brackets. At every appointment, a small rubber band (an elastic ligature) was placed around each bracket to hold the wire in. Those rubber bands created friction between the wire and the bracket, which the orthodontist had to overcome with stronger forces — and stronger forces meant more discomfort, slower movement, and the recurring "oh, that's tender" feeling for days after each visit.
Damon brackets eliminated the rubber bands entirely. Each bracket has a small built-in door that opens to receive the wire and closes to hold it. The wire moves through the bracket freely, with minimal friction.
Damon Ultima — the most recent generation — takes this further in two specific ways:
- Variable torque across the arch. Ultima brackets are manufactured with different prescriptions for different teeth — the front teeth get one angulation, the canines another, the molars another. The bracket itself delivers a different planned position to each tooth without the orthodontist having to bend the wire to compensate. This is meaningful for the final precision of the result.
- Full slot engagement early in treatment. Ultima is designed around wires that fully fill the bracket slot from early in the wire sequence rather than gradually building toward full engagement. The bracket is delivering its full planned prescription from the start, not slowly working into it as treatment progresses.
Why we use Damon Ultima for every case
The trade-off is cost. Damon Ultima brackets are significantly more expensive at the supply level than standard twin brackets. That's why most practices that offer them offer them as an upgrade tier — you pay more, you get the better brackets.
We've never been comfortable with that arrangement. The premium bracket produces measurably better outcomes for the patient:
- More comfortable — lower friction means less force is needed to move the teeth, and less force generally means less soreness between appointments
- More predictable mechanics — teeth move the way the wire was engineered to move them, without rubber-band friction adding variability
- Fewer emergency visits — no rubber ligatures to come loose or break
- Easier hygiene — without rubber ligatures collecting plaque, brushing and flossing around brackets is genuinely easier
- Often shorter treatment — the combination of reduced friction, full slot engagement, and our digital indirect bonding precision compounds into measurable time savings on many cases
- More cases treatable without extractions — the lighter forces and biological response Damon delivers often allow arch development that traditional systems would require extractions or expansion appliances to achieve
So Andros Orthodontics uses Damon Ultima as the standard for every patient. There's no upgrade tier. If you're getting braces at Andros Orthodontics, you're getting the premium system.
Combined with our digital workflow
Damon Ultima is only half of what makes braces treatment at Andros Orthodontics different. The other half is the digital workflow we use for every case:
- CBCT-based virtual case planning. Every case is modeled in 3D from CBCT scans before treatment begins. Root positions are mapped. Movements are engineered. Risks are identified and resolved on the computer rather than discovered mid-treatment.
- 3D-printed indirect bonding tray. Brackets are placed using a custom 3D-printed tray that holds every bracket in its planned position to a fraction of a millimeter. Instead of the orthodontist placing each bracket by eye one at a time, all brackets are seated simultaneously with sub-millimeter accuracy.
- Engineered wire sequence. Because the brackets are exactly where they should be and Damon Ultima delivers its full prescription from early in treatment, the wire sequence does what it's planned to do without mid-course detours.
The result: the most predictable braces experience we know how to deliver. More about our digital workflow →
Clear ceramic option
For patients who want braces but prefer a less visible appearance, Damon Ultima is available in a clear ceramic version. The brackets are tooth-colored and significantly less noticeable than metal brackets, particularly in photographs. They function identically to the metal version and use the same digital workflow and bonding precision. Cost is typically slightly higher than metal for the ceramic option; we'll cover the difference at your consultation.
For most adolescents, metal brackets are perfectly fine — kids generally don't share the aesthetic concern adults do, and metal brackets are more durable in active mouths. For adults, the ceramic version is a popular middle ground between visible metal and Invisalign.
How we prevent broken brackets: bite ramps
The most common reason a lower bracket breaks isn't eating something hard — it's the patient's own upper teeth biting down on the bracket during chewing or sleeping. To prevent this, we use bite ramps on most patients: small composite blocks bonded to the backs of the upper front teeth that act as a stop. As long as bite ramps are in place, the upper teeth can't clamp all the way down onto the lower brackets.
Bite ramps occasionally wear down (especially in patients who grind) or break off without the patient noticing. When that happens, brackets start breaking "out of nowhere" because the protection is gone. If you notice your upper teeth contacting your lower brackets when you bite down — even slightly — text or call us right away. We replace the bite ramp the same day, before brackets start to fail. More on the Orthodontic Emergencies page →
Daily life with braces
- Eating — avoid hard, sticky, and bite-into foods (popcorn, ice, hard candies, sticky candies, gum, whole raw carrots and apples). The avoid list cuts emergency visits significantly. You don't have to be perfect.
- Brushing — extra attention around brackets, angle the brush toward and away from the wire. An interdental brush (small bottle-brush tool) helps reach around brackets.
- Flossing — a floss threader or water flosser is easier than threading regular floss under each wire. We'll walk you through your specific appliance at your bonding appointment.
- Sports — a properly-fitted mouthguard for any contact sport
- Speech — most patients adapt within a day or two; speech effects from braces are minimal
- Soreness after adjustments — normal for the first 3-5 days; ibuprofen or acetaminophen as directed plus softer foods handle it
How long treatment takes
Most comprehensive cases run 18-24 months. The combination of Damon Ultima mechanics + 3D-printed indirect bonding precision + CBCT-based case planning produces consistently more predictable timelines than traditional methods. Fewer mid-course corrections, fewer emergency visits, less timeline drift.
Your full visit schedule is presented at the consultation — how many appointments, when each one is, and what we'll do at each one. You know the end from the beginning.
Braces vs. Invisalign — which is right for you?
The honest specialist answer is probably different from what you've heard elsewhere: Invisalign can treat virtually any case braces can treat. Clinically, the two tools have equivalent capability — the plastic applies the same forces to teeth on the same digital treatment plan with the same precision. The real difference is who's doing the work day-to-day.
- Braces are plug-and-play. Brackets are bonded; the wire is engaged at every appointment; treatment happens whether you remember it or not. You show up to scheduled adjustments and that's it.
- Invisalign requires patient compliance. The plastic only moves teeth when it's in your mouth. Patients who wear the trays 20-22 hours per day get the same results as braces patients. Patients who don't fall behind.
So the decision usually comes down to two things: your honest self-assessment of compliance, and your personal preference. Some patients want the certainty of braces. Some want the aesthetics and removability of Invisalign. Both are legitimate. Dr. Andros will give you a direct read at the consultation and you decide from there. More about Invisalign →