Whitening teeth whilst wearing braces

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#1 Post by **Laurita** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:09 am

I'm wearing ceramic braces top & bottom, have had them on for almost a year & have about another 6 months to go. I'm planning on getting them whitened by laser when I get the braces off, but is there any whitening I can do now whilst wearing braces? Have any of yous tried anything? A couple of my friends are doing white strips at the moment & my teeth look dull in comparison. I also think my teeth are not as white as they were pre-braces.

So I know you shouldn't do white strips or whatever whilst wearing braces as your teeth will be 2 different colours when you get the braces off, but as I'm planning on getting them whitened post braces anyway- will this really matter?

Am just after opinions really. What are you guys doing to keep your teeth as white & bright as possible during brace wearing?

Thanks!

#2 Post by **Wyo_Stacy** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:56 am

Unless you are planning on going straight from the orthos office to your dentist (or wherever your are getting them whitened) you will have different colors on your teeth. While it might not be that comfortable right now, I would wait on all whitening until your braces are off.
I have noticed that I am not happy with the color of my teeth but because I don't want and funny spots, I am not doing anything about it right now. I will not even use whitening toothpaste for that reason. I am just waiting until I can get it all taken care of at once.

#3 Post by **rsprouse** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:09 am

You want to wait until you have your braces off. Home whitening kits that you buy over the counter will get most people a shade or two (tops) lighter. But the fit will be awful with brackets on and the whitening material will be diluted and useless nearly instantly. Just hang in there and wait until you are brace free. Most Dentist's will make a set of bleaching trays after an in office whitening procedure (included in the fee) which will allow you to maintain or increasingly lighten your teeth shade.

Best,
Rory

#4 Post by **fitchick** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:32 am

I thought of having my teeth whitened, but right now with the braces I don't want to draw too much attention to them. I've decided to have them whitened at the end of all the treatment as a Well Done to myself for putting me through all of this in the first place!

In the meantime, I'd say, brush, mouthwash & floss.

Good Luck

Julie

#5 Post by **Kittysopretty** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:40 pm

Hi Laura,

I am neurotic about my neon white teeth, lol. Before I got braces, I whitened them (I have the professional stuff from the dentist). To maintain them, I occasional use some of that paint on stuff - Crest Night Effects. I figure, the tooth part under the brackets is safe from any staining, etc but I don't want to get my braces off and have the REST of my teeth stained from coffee or whatever. I plan on getting them whitened asap after removal if needed but I see no harm in using some gentle whiteners. I wouldn't do it had I not whitened BEFORE being braced though. KWIM?

#6 Post by **Laurita** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:35 am

Thanks for your replies. I suppose I should just wait til I get the things off! I'll still continue to use whitening toothpaste while the braces are on though. Also, my ortho is also my dentist n is gonna do the whitening as soon as the braces come off so I suppose I can risk it if the whitening stuff does actually work!

#7 Post by **LoobyLou** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:09 pm

I'm finding just regular whitening toothpaste very effective. I've only just started using it with braces (I've had them on over a year and was too scared of using it in case of ill effects) and that was after I read kk's point that they don't whiten but remove stains. I found it got rid of loads of stains so I recommend it...