Metal braces in Barcelona
Metal brackets are small steel pieces bonded to the outer face of the tooth and joined by an archwire, and it is the wire that does the work as it returns to its shape. They handle everything, difficult cases included, and they are the cheapest fixed orthodontics. They show when you speak and in photographs.
Metal braces are the classic orthodontic appliance: small stainless steel pieces bonded to the outer face of each tooth and linked by an archwire. The wire does the work, slowly returning to its own shape and carrying every tooth along with it.
They are still the most widely used system, for two concrete reasons. They last: steel does not stain and does not come unstuck, so a two-year treatment runs without surprises. And they move teeth in any direction, including the difficult cases where the more discreet alternatives fall short or stretch the timeline.
The trade-off is that they show, and that is worth saying up front. If that is your only reservation, at our Barcelona clinic we will show you at the first appointment how ceramic braces or clear aligners would look on your own teeth, with the timeline and the cost of each, so you can choose knowing what you gain and what you give up.
How metal braces are fitted, step by step
Fitting them is painless and needs no anaesthetic. What it does take is chair time, so it helps to know how the day goes.
Assessment first. X-ray, photographs and an impression or scan of your mouth. That shows where each tooth has to travel and how long it will take. The plan and the fixed quote come out of that, before anything is touched.
Getting the mouth ready. Decay, tartar or inflamed gums are dealt with first. A bracket bonded onto a tooth in poor condition causes trouble later, and cleaning around wires is harder than cleaning a free tooth.
Fitting. The tooth surface is dried, each bracket is bonded in its exact position and the first archwire goes in, always the most flexible one. Between one hour and an hour and a half, and you leave with the braces on.
Adjustments. Every four to six weeks the wire is swapped for a slightly firmer one. These are short visits, fifteen or twenty minutes, and they set the real pace of the treatment.
Removal and retention. When the braces come off the enamel is polished and the retainer goes in: a fine wire behind the teeth, a clear retainer worn at night, or both. This part is not optional, and further down we explain why.
For the first three or four days you will feel pressure when you bite and some rubbing on the inside of the cheek. Orthodontic wax and soft food handle it, and it passes on its own.
Why choose metal braces
They handle everything. Severe crowding, crossbites, rotated teeth or teeth that never came through: a metal bracket controls movement tooth by tooth, even when one has to be brought a long way.
They do not depend on you remembering. They are bonded on, so they work twenty-four hours a day. With clear aligners the timeline depends on wearing them the agreed number of hours, and that is where treatments stretch.
They are the most affordable fixed orthodontics. They cost less than ceramic braces, lingual braces and clear aligners. The quote is fixed at the first appointment and the adjustment visits are included.
They last. Steel does not break and does not change colour. If one comes unstuck it is bonded again in a short visit and treatment carries on unchanged.
Drawbacks of metal braces
They show when you talk and in photographs. That is why many people ask about ceramic braces or clear aligners first.
The first days are uncomfortable. Pressure when biting and rubbing against the inside of the lip. Wax and soft food see you through three or four days, and after each adjustment it comes back for a day, much milder.
They take more cleaning. You have to brush around every bracket and use an interdental brush, especially along the gum line. Neglecting it leaves white marks on the enamel that do not go away when the braces come off.
Some foods have to go. Ice, whole nuts, very crusty bread and anything sticky pull brackets off easily.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to wear metal braces?
Your case decides it, not the type of bracket, but there are reference figures. A 2016 systematic review, covering 22 studies and more than a thousand patients, calculated an average duration of 19.9 months, in other words a little under two years with the braces on.
In the practice of an orthodontist who reviewed 366 patients, the average was 23.5 months. We give you the time you will have to wear them in writing after the assessment; retention comes afterwards and is not part of that period.
Is there a maximum length of time for braces?
There is no fixed maximum, but there is a range and there are known causes. In that study of 366 patients, the shortest treatment lasted 12 months and the longest 37.
Among the things that made it longer were crowding of 3 mm or more in the upper arch, a class II bite (the upper teeth ahead of the lower ones), a plan with extractions, poor hygiene, not wearing the prescribed elastics and brackets that broke or had to be bonded again.
A 2008 review adds impacted canines and treatments combined with surgery, whose duration varies more. If your case has any of those factors, you will see it reflected in the timeline from the start.
How much do metal braces cost?
At our clinic, treatment with metal braces costs between 2,800 and 3,000 €, with the retainers included. Where your case falls within that range depends mainly on how complex it is and how long it lasts, more than on the bracket itself; the NHS puts it the same way: the cost varies with how complicated the problem is and the type of appliance.
Among braces, steel ones generally cost less than ceramic and lingual ones. We give you a fixed quote for your case after the assessment, which is free. What that quote depends on and what is paid before and after the braces is explained on the page about metal braces cost in Barcelona. You will find more figures in the prices of orthodontic appliances in Barcelona.
Which toothbrush and routine do I need with metal braces?
Your usual toothbrush does not reach everything. The NHS advice is to brush three times a day with fluoride toothpaste (in the morning, at night and after meals) and, every day, to use an interdental brush: a small, cone-shaped one that slips between the teeth and under the archwire.
Spend a few seconds on each bracket, above and below it, without forgetting the gum line. If your gums become very red, swollen or sore, the NHS recommends checking with the orthodontist.
Can I choose coloured elastics?
Yes. The small elastics that hold the archwire to each metal bracket come in many colours and, as they are changed at every adjustment visit, you can try a different one each time.
It is worth knowing that they all pick up some colour from food and drink, and not to the same degree: in a study carried out in the mouth with white, grey and pink elastics, the white ones stained more than the others and the grey ones less.
