My teeth look so yellow

[bracesat40]

I have ceramic brackets and I think they are making my teeth look very yellow. My teeth never looked yellow pre-braces. My ortho's assistant said it's from the treatment they put on the teeth before placing the brackets (not the cement). She said it releases flouride or something.

I think I could deal better with the braces if my teeth didn't look so yellow! What is the point of having less noticeable (ceramic) brackets if they just make your teeth look really yellow!

Are there any things I can do to make them look whiter? I already use whitening toothpaste and baking soda...but neither seems to be helping.

[Chloe1]

My teeth, never Jessica Simpson white to begin with, are now a sickly shade of sort of gray/yellow. I too have ceramic brackets that are supposed to be clear but I think they make my teeth look yellow. I use pearl drops and always have which seems to get rid of the coffee stains. I just thought they were getting more yellow/gray because my toothbrush didn't work as directly on the stains as before.

I'm going to bleach the you know what out of them when I'm done. In the meantime, I'm just concentrating on the lovely movement of them!!!!! Don't worry, you notice it more than anyone else and you are not alone with this problem.

I'm using a Sonicare toothbrush but someone posted that Oral B does better? If anyone has any other suggestions besides waiting it out let us know!!

[cosmicgirl]

Hi there! I also have ceramics and within a couple of weeks of them going on, I thought my teeth were looking yellow... However, 10 weeks in, either I'm getting used to the colour or they are starting to brighten up again! I noticed at the beginning that my gums looked paler and perhaps that made my teeth look dull in comparison. My gums are back to healthly pink now and teeth look white so perhaps it's just a settling in process - my teeth don't like to be messed about with, they've enjoyed 30 odd years of scrunching up in my mouth so perhaps this is their way of protesting!

My teeth also look a lot brighter after adjustments and I get fresh ligs.

Others on this board have suggested changing mouthwash as some seem to cause tooth discolouration.

Peronally I use Oral B toothbrush - I thought I'd put a Sonic one on my Christmas list, but after a little research, found that the Sonic ones don't seem to be as good as an oscillating brush.

[Lisa65]

I thought I was doing my oral health a real favour when I spent out £££ on a Sonicare just before getting my braces. However I stopped using it and went back to my Oral-B after about 3 months because my teeth were getting really stained.

I've got metal braces and I've always thought my teeth looked less white than they were before braces, but I had a bracket pop off last week after 18 months of being firmly stuck on, so I got a chance to see what colour the tooth was under the bracket. It was just the same as the rest of my teeth.

I wonder if a lot of our paranoia about tooth colour is just down to the fact that we spend so much more time looking at them.

[Spanner]

My teeth are an awful colour. I've spent loads and loads of money on all different kinds of tooth whitening preparations but nothing works like having them professionaly cleaned. I've had them done professionaly several times in the last couple of years but it doesn't seem to last long. I intend on having them bleached but I'm not sure when...need to ask the ortho on Wednesday about that.

I use an Oral-B too, best electric tooth brush I've ever had.

The mouthwash I use makes the area around my gum line brown but I have to use it otherwsie my gums start to feel sore and bleed when I brush.

[cosmicgirl]

I wonder if a lot of our paranoia about tooth colour is just down to the fact that we spend so much more time looking at them.

Think you have a point there Lisa! I spend far too much time than is healthy or necessary, obsessing over my teeth!

[Miss Smiley]

I don't think the toothbrush really does much to whiten our teeth. I've used Sonicare for 10 years or so and I have found that my teeth are always the brightest after a professional cleaning. I also use an Oral B rotary brush at my other half's but do not like the way the rotary feels. Different strokes for different folks. I haven't found my teeth (natural and crowns) to be any yellower now than when I started ortho treatment and I have been using Colgate Phos Flur religiously.

[Andantae]

Next visit to your ortho, have the assistant check and make sure all the adhesive around your brackets is ground off. My teeth looked awful within days of getting braces and I discovered with was all the adhesive that was staining.

[danish]

I have ceramic brackets and I think they are making my teeth look very yellow. My teeth never looked yellow pre-braces. My ortho's assistant said it's from the treatment they put on the teeth before placing the brackets (not the cement). She said it releases flouride or something.

I think I could deal better with the braces if my teeth didn't look so yellow! What is the point of having less noticeable (ceramic) brackets if they just make your teeth look really yellow!

Are there any things I can do to make them look whiter? I already use whitening toothpaste and baking soda...but neither seems to be helping.

Hey there,

I also noticed some kind of yellowish discoloration of my teeth after I was braced. At least that's what I think. However, it might be my imagination. At least to some extent. Many of us brace folks get obsessed with our teeth. I have noticed that my teeth at times look more yellowish than at others. Even after brushing teeth. But that does not really make sense. I have noticed that the type of light (indoor, outdoor, etc), shading, being suntanned, color of clothes weared, and so on also makes a difference

The so-called whitening toothpastes hardly make one's teeth whiter. They would have to contain a bleaching agent (e.g. hydrogen peroxide) which the vast majority don't. Bleaching is possible for people with braces but is not recommended as it will leave unbleached spots where the brackets were fitted. Some of the whitening products may apparantly even harm your tooth enamel because of excessive amounts of abrasive used in the products (small particles of silica, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphate are used to grind off stains). Ask your dentist for professional advice.

Danish

[madclo02]

I feel that mine are yellow, but i have traditional braces.

[djspeece]

I think the Damon brackets can provide the illusion that your teeth are more yellow than they really are. Check under different lighting situations -- I found that made a dramatic difference, and may give you reason not to worry. Artificial lighting can be brutal. Of course once you get braces you are looking in mirrors a lot more and that can heighten the perceptions of imperfection.
I don't think applying brackets has anything to do with releasing fluoride or anything else, and that tech is probably talking out of her, ahh, posterior region.

[EmilyTravels]

I too think my teeth look yellower since getting braces (ceramic top and metal bottom, self-ligating like Damon system but called "Speed" system). However, my ortho tech told me no whitening toothpaste or rinses while in braces, so I guess I'll just have to live with it until I get them off and can use some Crest whitestrips -- those work much better at whitening than toothpaste, but I also use whitening toothpaste while not braced.