White spots around braces

[bracefulgurl]

I brush my teeth around 3-4 times a day but I'm still scared that when I get my braces off, I'll have white spots around where my brackets use to be. My question is, can you tell when they're showing up or do they just sneakily come up?
I watch videos and people have white spots, but do they not notice they're there? Or are they just not brush their teeth good enough

[ItsFreyja]

Hi bracefulgurl! I don't know whether people just don't notice these areas of decalcification appearing; I've wondered about that too. (From chatting with the techs at my ortho's office, I have come to believe that most people are just clueless about their teeth and their braces!) It is certainly possible to brush your teeth a lot and not do a good job removing plaque around the brackets (and at/under the gumline) and end up with white spots (and gingivitis). Ask your orthodontist or dentist at your next visit about how it looks like you're doing with your hygiene. If you're especially worried, or if you're showing signs of trouble developing, they can help. Mine gave me an electric toothbrush and a special high-fluoride toothpaste, for example.

[buffon85]

I brush around brackets with interdental brushes.

[sirwired]

This is something your hygienist can spot during your regular cleaning. Speaking for myself, as a child my braces hygeine was not that great and I managed to avoid decalcification, so assuming you are not completely botching the job when brushing so often, I don't think you'll have any trouble at all.

If you want to be extra cautious, and you have Rx Drug Coverage with your medical insurance, ask for a prescription for high-fluoride toothpaste from your Ortho and use it twice a day.