Anybody have a problem with yellow teeth in braces?

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#1 Post by **genoisegurl** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:14 am

Hi! I have only been braced two weeks. Before braces, my teeth were quite yellow already. Now with braces, I don't know if it's my imagination or what but it appears even duller! So with very dull, dark yellow teeth in metal braces, my self confidence is getting even lower.

Is there anything I can do?

#2 Post by **jennielee81** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:29 am

Sorry to hear that you're so down about your teeth!

My guess is that it is an illusion caused by the shadow of the brackets and wire on your teeth and the ligs starting to discolor. What color ligs do you have? I found on my daughter, that dark pink make her teeth look a lot whiter.

Something else to try is using a whitening toothpaste (just toothpaste, not treatments or gels!!) They are designed to remove surface stains, but not to whiten the enamels itself so it is safe with braces. I used whitening toothpaste throughout my treatment and my teeth stayed nice and bright.

Best wishes to you!!

#3 Post by **HeyTeach** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:29 pm

At 50+ my teeth are far from pearly white. However, I keep em clean and shiny, and will whiten when the brackets come off. Care as best you can, and ask your ortho or tech what they suggest.

#4 Post by **TigerLily** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:34 pm

Oh weird, I was thinking this same thing this morning (been braced a week).

My teeth do look really yellow and can't work out why as my top ones do as well (and only the bottom is braced at the moment). I don't have an rubber ligs, I have wire ties.

I am going to ask my friend to bring me back some whitening toothpaste from the US as the stuff in the UK doesn't do anything, but I wouldn't do any whitening treatments.

#5 Post by **genoisegurl** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:56 pm

Thanks for replying!
I have wire ties I think, so no staining of the ligs. I will try the whitening toothpaste. Does anybody know which whitening toothpaste works but isn't too strong to harm the enamel?

#6 Post by **cosmicgirl** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:06 pm

My teeth have also gone yellow, but then there are days when they look brighter again

I wonder if they change colour when they're on the move? In the early days I drank so much tea which I found soothing - perhaps that stained them? And now I'm braver (?) I've cut back and they're brightening up again... I also wondered if certain mouthwashes caused a change - either dulling the teeth, or brightening the ligs, which could make the old gnashers appear yellow... It seems a pity - we can either have wonky white teeth, or straight yellow!

#7 Post by **cosmicgirl** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:27 pm

Another thought occurred to me while I was doing another post - I have recently started chewing gum again. Could that help make my teeth look a bit brighter? It certainly gets the old saliva swooshing around, and there must be some sort of increased blood flow going on with all the extra chomping

#8 Post by **KK Cat** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:31 pm

I definitely have this problem, although to an extent it is of my own making

I have never had 'white' teeth they have always leaned a bit more towards the yellow end of the spectrum. After getting the top braces on in May, by the end of July they were gone quite yellow and dull.

I had them cleaned at the end of July and the hygienist said that it was a combination of the glue around the brackets staining but in my case it was probably tea that was doing the main damage. I am a tea addict (I'm Irish, what can you expect

). She said that coffee is actually less damaging than tea for stains and that I should drink less tea and when I do use more milk (I use practically no milk). She recommends that I get my teeth cleaned every 3 months, I had them done again about 2 weeks ago and could not believe the difference after getting them cleaned!

I have been trying to drink less tea, put more milk in, and to drink water after the tea (if I can't brush) in the hope it might help (I can't give up, it's my only vice and reasonably harmless

).

#9 Post by **Andantae** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 7:41 pm

Hello,

2 things I noticed about yellowing teeth after having been braced now for 6 months.

#1 Within a few days of bracing I noticed a much yellower color to my teeth---just awful, really----what it amounted to was excess adhesive around the brackets. I went in 4 days after being braced and have them grind off the excess adhesive. They were happy to do so and the hygentist even said how much better they looked. However...

#2 I have had my teeth professionally cleaned twice by my dentist since getting braced and both times my teeth came out looking so nice and white but withtin a short time got dark again . (Not nearly as bad as with the adhesive staining, but not my normal color.) My take on this is that all the nooks and crannies that those brackets create seem to hide and harbor coffee/tea/wine residues which your lips and tongue would normally wipe away.

Since it sounds like many of you have been braced recently, try to find a magnifying mirror (10X)---this is also very handy to use when flossing!) and see if you can find any adhesive around the brackets and have it ground off. As far as normal staining, I am going to try to avoid the red wine, & teas, and drink coffee with cream in it to see if that makes a difference. I'll let you know.....Good Luck!

Andi

#10 Post by **danish** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:51 pm

Hi there,
I'm glad that this subject is brought up in this forum. Like many of you I have also noticed that my teeth have become yellowish during treatment which is quite nasty. I mentioned it to my ortho who whoever only reluctantly seemed to admit that the staining happened during the treatment (shortly after being braced) and that my teeth weren't stained prior to start of the treatment.
I know that many of us become obsessed with our teeth. I also had the feeling that the my teeth seem more stained on one day and then the next day they look pretty OK. But that it's not my imagination going beserk is apparant from this picture:

You can clearly see where the teeth are stained and where not. I do not know whether the staining is due to a rather liberal use of chlorhexidine and the staining is caused by the adhesive used to attached the brackets on to the teeth. I have tried to brush it off but without success.

#11 Post by **ollielloyd** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:11 am

I think alot of it is just to do with shadowing, as previously mentioned!

In my opinion, it'll only be a better result when getting them taken off!

I use mouthwash, and a whitening toothpaste; but I have Damon 3's so my teeth may appear less yellow anyway..I get compliments on how white my teeth are UNDER the braces,so I must be doing something right!!

Keep smiling!

Ollie

#12 Post by **joney** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:36 am

My teeth look more yellow now also. I know that most of this is caused by my lifestyle. Smoking definitely doesn't help. Also I drink lots of tea, although ironically tea is meant to be good for your teeth, they even say this on the packets now, however it does stain teeth badly.

My hygienist said that it is harder to keep teeth clean with a brace. There are lots more places for the plaque to gather and hide. I see the hygienist every 3 months and my teeth always feel and look so clean afterwards. However, despite my best efforts to keep them that way, and because of my lifestyle, they don't stay Hollywood white for long. However I'm hoping that when the brace comes off it will be a lot easier to keep them clean, I'm sure it will.

I've reached the one year mark with my brace and hopefully counting down now, I really hope it is 18 months and would love to have them off by next Summer but I'm not holding my breath. There will be a big celebration when I get this brace off, lots of mint humbugs and a big baguette with tons of leafy filling. Can't wait to bite into them.

#13 Post by **ilovemacs** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:42 am

Mine do too, right now I have black and light pink ligatures. I think it may be an illusion though. I can't use any whitening toothpastes or whitening agents according to my orthodontist, so I follow those rules. I use plain Crest, cavity protection toothpaste. So I'm not sure. Hope this may help!

#14 Post by **Marguerite** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:34 pm

My experience is that flossing and a whitening rinse (I use Crest) do a lot to keep teeth from yellowing. Also, just brushing longer! I am against using an electric toothbrush because I don't like the noise and electronic sensation, so I just spend a little more time with the manual tooth brush when I feel my teeth aren't as white as I'd like.

Also: Jennie Lee, your teeth are looking absolutely beautiful! I have not been on this website in ages, but I remember when you were first getting braced. I am a big believer in genetics for teeth and even though yours were not straight naturally, they have georgous shape and your gumline is really symmetrical. Seriously you have a movie star smile: I am totally jealous! Okay, I am finished rhapsodizing over your teeth...

Best of luck to everyone reading, I have not been back on this board in awhile but I hope all are doing well. HANG IN THERE

#15 Post by **ghostmyimag3** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:38 pm

Well i have a yellowing problem, but i've had my teeth cleaned once in 1 yr with these things, but i get them off December 11 so i'm hoping for a cleaning and whitening!!