I did before my braces. Now two weeks after using a regular paste I see my teeth are getting a bit dingy, yellowing, I brush like mad so that's not the problem. My ortho says not to use a whitening toothpaste I forget why. My teeth have been whitened with the crest white strips and were real white. I'd like to maintain that for sure!!!

I use it.

I might recommend a sonicare if you feel like blowing about $100.00 (at costco) and if you think that staining is the problem.

Don't brush too much. You could hurt the enamel and wear away your gums doing that. A sonicare helps because it brushes just the right amount and times your brushing so you don't overbrush.

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Braced on 8/05 - Braces off 12/06
Mid Forties!

Just bought the Sonicare e9500 yesterday. I had to take it back today because the thing didn't have two different speeds like it say it did. It was $129.00 plus 20% off with a $10.00 rebate. Not to bad. (Ouch!)
Bed Bath and Beyond.

I also bought a 10X mirror so I can see up close at my teeth and see what kind of shape they're in. Looked at the Water piks but can't seem to fing the cordless model.

What can I do for the yellowing? Does your ortho tell you not to use it or does he say it's ok?

I don't think my ortho said anything but an ortho on the board here said it was okay. You might try searching but I can't remember which forum it was. If I had to guess it would be either ask the doc or the dental doo dads. Maybe someone else remembers?

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Braced on 8/05 - Braces off 12/06
Mid Forties!

Hi Kat,

It's not a good idea to use whitening toothpaste while your braces are on as you may find your teeth will be two different colours when you get the braces off.

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Banded 22 June 2006.
Debanded 24 July 2007.
Loving it!

I was also afraid of having my teeth be whiter around the brackets if I used whitening toothpaste, but I also didn't want them to be darker around the bracket.

My solution? I use whitening toothpaste at night only, and regular toothpaste the rest of the time. That way, I think I'll just get them to stay the right color, and not change too much in either direction.

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[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

I've used whitening toothpaste throughout my entire treatment. The reason I did this was becasue I used whitening toothpaste before braces and it kept my teeth a certain color so I didn't want to have it be white underneath the brackets and yellow on the rest of the tooth. Whitening toothpaste only removes recent surface stains. It's not like crest whitestrips were it bleaches your teeth.

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Ceramics on top
Metals on bottom
18 - 24 month duration
Removed September 27, 2006
Hawley top and bottom

As best I recall, the explanation just given above by ThisIsMary is pretty much what one of the dental professionals (I forget who) said on this topic once before - that is to say that whitening toothpastes only remove surface stains (rather than actually bleaching the teeth) and that it is OK to use them with braces.

I also continue to use whitening toothpaste for the same reason others have stated - I used it before! Only makes sense to continue in order to keep the exposed tooth the same as the protected part. Now if you used bleach before, I'm not sure if you are stuck with tiny squares until you can bleach again...

My ortho's office tells patients not the use a whitening toothpaste. Whitening toothpastes or those with baking soda can be more abrasive, if your thinking about the enamel.

I plan on using crest whitestrips as soon as I can.

My ortho's office gives a little tube of Crest Whitening toothpaste in their goodybags.

I guess he doesn't think it's a bad idea to use it... just a thought.

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"Life is an occasion; RISE TO IT!" --Mr. Magorium
I wore Damon 3's and Opals for 20 months at age 42. Braces off January 2007
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3535 a little more about me here: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 961130.htm

I have been recently. I started drinking coffee after I got braces (I know, I know. It's a necessary evil of work-study) and I felt like they were getting significantly dingier.

All better now, I think. Probably going to lay off it (and the coffee) from now on.

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[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

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I was told not to use whitening toothpaste because it will make the areas of your teeth that are not covered by the brackets whiter than the areas under the brackets. My teeth are already pretty white so I'm just using regular Colgate advanced which is what my ortho gave me to use. I prefer my whitening toothpaste so I think I may alternate between both toothpasts to maintain my original shade.

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[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

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Kat I use whitening toothpaste everytime I brush!

I asked my ortho about it and he said it was important for me to use it, as I eat a lot of staining foods and my teeth were cleaned to put my braces on. I guess my ortho is like ThisIsMary!

My ortho also explained that whitening toothpaste does not whiten teeth. It will help remove the most recent stains. If it was that simple to whiten teeth, the toothpaste companies would put all the teeth whitening millionnaires out of business real fast!

My favourite toothpaste is colgate with peroxide and baking soda!

I whitended my teeth prior to getting braces on as well. They were, well movie star white! I smoked through my year of braces, I know i know bad habit! I just used regular toothpaste and brushed twice a day. I also drink tea, coffee, soda, and all the bad staining stuff.

When I got mine removed about a month ago I was so surprised to see how white my teeth still were! There weren't any different shades or anything of that sort. My dentist told me why some people's teeth get stained. If you let plaque build around your braces then they will stain. Just brush normally and you'll be amazed! Hope I helped!!