Stained brackets

[24braceface]

I got my lowers put on a couple of weeks ago and they are already stained. I'm due to go back to the ortho in a couple of weeks. Is there anything they can do about this? I have clear brackets. The outer part of the bracket seems to be more stained. Also my teeth look really yellow. I do realize that some of this is my fault, b/c I've been under a tremendous amount of stress with moving and starting school and other life issues that I wasn't as high maintenance about brushing like I usually am. Anyway, is there anything I or the ortho can do to brighten up the brackets?

[catgyrl]

Do you have the type of brackets that use the little rubber ligatures, or o-rings, around them to hold in the wire? If so, those are what's staining (and why you notice it more around the edges). Darker colored ligatures resist staining much better than clear or lighter ones. I have the same problem because I drink a lot of dark soda, but I've found that using straws (specifically, bendy straws) work WONDERS at aiming the soda towards the back of my mouth and away from my teeth. Anything with mustard, tomato sauce, tumeric (curry!), as well as coffee, tea, soda will stain your ligs. But I've had my Obscure (tooth-colored) ligs for over 2 weeks now, and because I've been using my bendy straws, I have little to no staining!

If you don't use ligatures, then it might be the excess glue that is staining. Be diligent about your brushing. Once in a while, I brush with a bit of bakinig soda and it seems to help, too.

-Cathy

[CherylRobbins]

i have clear brackets on top with cler o-rings. i will put a little bit of wax around my brackets and change throughout the day. that seems to help a lot.