Colours and personalisation

What the colours actually are

Small elastic rings, called ligatures or modules, that hold the archwire into each bracket. They come in a wide range of colours and are replaced every six to ten weeks when the wire is changed. They are functional first — they are what keeps the wire seated — and decorative second.

Self-ligating brackets have no ligatures and therefore no colour choice, which is worth knowing before a ten-year-old is promised otherwise. There are also clear and silver-grey options for anyone who wants the braces to recede rather than stand out.

Which colours flatter teeth

A simple principle: colours that contrast with yellow make enamel look whiter, and colours close to yellow or beige do the opposite.

• Flattering: navy, deep blue, purple, teal, dark green, magenta. The blue-violet family works against yellow undertones the way a whitening toothpaste tint does.
• Risky: yellow, gold, beige, light brown — these sit too close to natural enamel shade and read as staining.
• Stains quickly: white and clear ligatures. They look excellent on day one and pick up curry, tomato, coffee and berry pigment within a fortnight.
• Worth avoiding before photographs: green, which after lunch is easily mistaken for something caught in the teeth.

How to think about it over a treatment

Most patients settle into one of three patterns: a signature colour kept the whole way through, a rotation matched to seasons and holidays, or team and school colours. Ask when school photographs, graduation or a wedding fall, and time the visit so the bands are fresh or switch to silver-grey for that stretch.