Yellowing teeth?

[janayeidk]

I got my braces on about a week or so ago and I took pictures to keep track of my progress. I have noticed that my teeth have been getting yellower. I don't really know what to do. I brush my teeth at least twice a day if not 3 times. I've been trying to stay away from really bad foods but there isn't much I can do as I go to school every day. I don't/have been drinking sodas and I only drink water while at school. Please help me! (I have plain metal braces with no colored bands so it couldn't just be the bands).

[sirwired]

Tea (especially hot tea) was horrible for my tooth color, do you drink it?

The most you can do is to stay away from tobacco, tea, and other staining items, and brush your teeth after every intake of food. If you choose to use a whitening toothpaste, make sure you use one of low abrasivity. (You can ask for the abrasivity score by e-mailing the company that makes the toothpaste; all ADA-approved toothpastes should have this information available. You want the score to at least be 100 or below, or better yet, 70-80 or below.)

[mmkay]

1 week is not very long. Your teeth can look quite different in shade depending upon the light so I think it's probably your imagination. And when your braces do come off, you can undo the yellowing by undergoing tooth whitening, so it's not such a big deal if your teeth do get a bit discoloured during treatment.

[beckyboo0205]

While I do think the braces sometimes do make them look a little more yellow or something, a lot of people have yellowing because of the glue. The leftover glue can collect stains.

I also had some yellowing/browning from using Crest Pro Health mouthwash. Don't know if you use that (and I don't know if you would even see it within a week.) I stopped using it and my dental hygienist was able to get rid of the brownish color. I had it within the first 3 months.

[pearlies]

Eventually you will get a dental cleaning and they'll be able to polish up a little especially if the archwires are off.

In the meantime, I drink dark or acidic liquids with straws to spare the fronts of my teeth. That includes consuming coffee only as ice coffee btw. Has kept them nice and white!

[SpottedPickle]

Yellowing can also be caused by changes to the teeth. Braces are a lot on a tooth, and may also be causing a slight discoloration. It is also natural from what I am seeing and is cleared up with a cleaning. I was told to stay away from whitening toothpaste no matter how bad you want to use it or you end up with dual colored teeth with de-banding.

[SunshineRay]

The same thing happened to me! I cant wait to get them off and whitened.

[janayeidk]

[quote="beckyboo0205"]While I do think the braces sometimes do make them look a little more yellow or something, a lot of people have yellowing because of the glue. The leftover glue can collect stains.

I also had some yellowing/browning from using Crest Pro Health mouthwash. Don't know if you use that (and I don't know if you would even see it within a week.) I stopped using it and my dental hygienist was able to get rid of the brownish color. I had it within the first 3 months.[/quote]

I do use Crest Pro Health Mouthwash! Could that be it? It was the mouthwash my ortho gave me along with the toothpaste. However, I stopped using the toothpaste because it said "...with whitening" in the fine print. What should I do to fix this? Yellow spots are my absolute worst fear when it comes to braces...

[sirwired]

Any staining caused by Crest Pro-Health can be removed during a routine cleaning; it isn't permanent. I wonder what it is with P&G and staining products; both the Cetyl Pyrindium Chloride in the mouthwash and the Stannous Fluoride in the toothpaste both can cause staining. There are non-staining alternatives to both that accomplish the same end (Listerine's formula for mouthwash, and Colgate Total for toothpaste.)

[janayeidk]

[quote="sirwired"]Any staining caused by Crest Pro-Health can be removed during a routine cleaning; it isn't permanent. I wonder what it is with P&G and staining products; both the Cetyl Pyrindium Chloride in the mouthwash and the Stannous Fluoride in the toothpaste both can cause staining. There are non-staining alternatives to both that accomplish the same end (Listerine's formula for mouthwash, and Colgate Total for toothpaste.)[/quote]

my next routine cleaning isn't until August... will then be too late for the stains to come off?

[sirwired]

No. Stains in teeth don't "set" like laundry. August should be as good a time as any. But if you want it done before then, you may be able to get P&G to pay for it... http://consumerist.com/2008/03/18/crest ... -cleaning/