Based On Your Experiences, What Stains Ligatures?

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#1 Post by **pinkants** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:02 am

Hola,

Okie, so I read through the FAQs and found out that curry, mustard, coffee, tea, and smoking may stain ligatures.

Have you guys discovered other foods that may stain? For example, I love tomatoes, and therefore, I love to drink tomato soup, eat tomato sauce, etc. Do you guys know if this will also stain ligatures?

I also enjoy deeply hued fruits such as blueberries, pomegranates, etc. Have you experience staining eating these or any other fruits?

Your experiences are greatly appreciated!

~pinkants

#2 Post by **flowertowngal** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:36 pm

Tomato-based food will stain your ligs. Now, when I say stain - I do not mean that they will immediately turn bright red. After a few tomato-based meals, your ligs will turn yellowish. After a few more, they will turn more yellow and have a slight hint of pink stain.

Would I eat spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce every day? No. Would I eat it a couple of times a week? Yes, I would and I do. It really is not that noticeable - the only time you will really notice is when the ortho asst. has taken them off and laid them on the stand which is covered with white paper. Boy, will they look yellow then!

Honestly, it's trial and error. I drink coffee every day, in the morning and at night and it has never been a problem - I do use cream, though, so it's not black coffee. So far I have never had my ligs stain so much that I couldn't stand it - and when I've come back from the ortho's office with fresh white ligs and I smile for my co-worker, she swears they look exactly the same as the stained ones! So there ya go!

#3 Post by **phanta** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:34 pm

I find black tea stains them more than coffee. Still, I cool my coffee and drink it through a straw

Salad with raw beets was brutal, as well as warm tomato sauce or soup, like already mentioned. Raw tomatoes were fine.

Haven't tried curcumin (curry) yet...

This is all I've been able to test in my 1 week of braces. HTH

#4 Post by **phanta** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:37 pm

Oh, I had a blueberry smoothie made with yogurt and frozen blueberries (I rinsed them out with warm water and didn't defrost at all). These went okay. I made sure to rinse very prompty afterwards though but it really didn't leave any hint of color at all.

#5 Post by **WiredNana** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:37 pm

Flowertowngal...
I agree with you.....I'm a tomato-lover of all sorts and have found it to be my downfall.....they stain, as do blueberries and my green tea does also.....It seems like all the good-for-you foods have this tendence, But one has to eat!
I have been trying to think of ways to lengthen the time of keeping the ligs stain-free....by covering the ligs with wax or drinking coffee with a straw,... but it's all a-bit excessive......and silly...

I think about this stuff way too much at night when my teeth ache.......

#6 Post by **pinkants** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:31 am

Thanks, everyone, for your advice!

Geez, I would have never guessed that green tea would stain! I only thought that black tea or coffee would be the most likely culprits. Well, I guess I'll have to sip my green tea cautiously.

#7 Post by **Tin Man** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:16 am

I drink 3-4 cups of Earl Grey everyday and I'll tell you right now - it makes you ligs\powerchains absolutely disgusting. I'm switching back to black powerchains on my next appointment. AlthoughI feel somewhat childish with the colors, it's better than how gross they are looking now.

#8 Post by **butterfly** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:50 am

Why you don't ask for wire ties? While in braces there are so many foods you cannot eat cause it is too hard too sticky too sweet... Why adding worries about colored foods?

#9 Post by **Flora2006** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:08 am

What bothers me the most with stained ligs is that although people won't really notice the stain...i find it makes teeth look more yellow...that's what bothers me.

Whenever my ligs stain a bit and i take a picture, my teeth just look more yellowish and then when i take a picture with clean ligs...it makes such a difference!

#10 Post by **phanta** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:09 am

Hi Karen,
it seemed the ligs attracted raw beet juice (from grated beets in the salad) even faster than a hot tomato sauce. They turned pink at first, then after rinsing a lot and brushing, they turned a *bright* yellow. Surprisingly, not red.

I'm so happy they changed the elastics yesterday at my emergency appointment. After just one week, they were gross yellow. They looked kinda like Chinese glass noodles but very yellow.

And Karen, thank you very much for sending me the Rainbow paragraph. It's coming very handy today with my adjusting to new bite yet again, this time due to "bite bumps".

#11 Post by **WiredNana** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 3:24 pm

[quote="butterfly"]Why you don't ask for wire ties?

Great question!.....As a matter-of-fact, on my adjustment Tuesday they put the white teflon coated wires on my two upper front teeth(to slightly turn them out).....WOW!!! did They ache for the rest of the day!.....so it will be interesting to see how long the white teflon stays on(or will it peel off?) and compare it to the pearl ligs I have on the others......

The berrys made a mess....really looked dark Grey and I immediately brushed like crazy.....lucky my appointment was the next day....

I was told I could come in between adjustments and have the ligs changed if I had a special occassion...I'll be doing that for my daughters graduation in June and another daughters wedding in October....

So ...what is the reason for the use of wire ties versus ligs in treatment...didn't ask Tuesday...I couldn't believe the pain!

#12 Post by **Flora2006** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 3:31 pm

WiredNana wrote:
butterfly wrote:
So ...what is the reason for the use of wire ties versus ligs in treatment...didn't ask Tuesday...I couldn't believe the pain!

I am pretty sure they do just about the same thing...but maybe they apply just a bit more force. I also ready here once that wire ties allow the ortho to have just a bit more control in where to move the tooth. I think it's mainly because of the staining issue though.

#13 Post by **bckydgardnr** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 4:44 pm

I live on tomato sauce, soup, etc. My powerchains usually don't look too bad; however, this go around my ortho used zinc string to tighten up the powerchains. The zinc string pratically turns yellow as soon as you breathe on it...yuk.

to make matters worse, my length between adjustments has to be 7 weeks instead of 6 because I am out of town for work when I am supposed to go in.
Oh well, it's all worth it!
gardnr

#14 Post by **lionfish** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:03 pm

I've had clear ligs on my lowers for a week now and, thus far, they still look pretty pristine. I do two cups of ceylon tea in the morning, eat heaps of tomatoes and have been into the red wine the last two nights. I clean and brush after every meal; I don't know if this helps.

The ortho office has offered lig changes any time I like, which is nice, but I sort of can't see myself taking too much advantage of this. I might have changed my mind in a week's time! LOL!

#15 Post by **vanilla** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 5:39 am

Pepsi, black tea, tomato sauce and red wine (I've left out beer because I'm really hoping it's not a culprit, too!) does it for me. I don't eat curry so it's a gradual staining.

I know it's festy but if my pearl ligs become discoloured I just wait 'til my next appointment