Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey guys,

Does anyone know if there is any harm or consequence with whitening (bleeching) your teeth while wearing braces? I bought a do-it-at-home kit and wanted to do it before the holidays. Been braced 8 months now and really want to show off how good they look! I'm really happy!

Spimpy

I personally would not do that.
I've read it on here before that when you do that if your teeth are not straight you will miss areas and you can't get where the brackets are glued on your teeth so when you get them off your gonna have not so white areas.
But...
If in doubt call the ortho!

It's generally recommended that you not do that, because if you bleach your teeth to whiter than they were pre-braces, you will have yellow squares on your teeth after debanding.
It would really be better to restrain yourself till your braces come off, as then you can bleach all you like.
A lot of people on this forum have used Crest Whitestrips or home bleaching trays after being be-braced and have had some fab results.

I used whitening gel during my treatment. In some areas, especially around brackets, there is mild staining that a cleaning would get but those whitening gels are good at removing surface stains. I'm not telling you what to do, but I whitened my teeth about 4 times while in braces. If you are using over the counter stuff, you really don't have much to worry about because I don't think they are super-effective. When I whitened my teeth, I left it on for about half the indicated time. Then I did it the next day for the other half of time. I used a scraper afterwards to gently remove some of the surface staining.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. I actually have already used Crest Whitestrips BEFORE braces and loved them. What I bought now is acutally a kind of liquid capsule that you place into a curved container and you bite into it, something like the fluoride treatment you get at the dentist.

My teeth are actually VERY straight now, no overlapping, so the fear of parts of my teeth still being yellow after I remove the braces is really not a concern. I was wondering more if it would effect the bonding at all...

Thanks to all, once again, for responding!
Spimpy

I've never heard that bleach can affect the bonding, although neither have I heard that it can't!

Despite my original post saying that it's not recommended, I have to admit that I have done a little home whitening here and there since braces because as my teeth have moved into place, it's exposed stained areas which were previously hidden by the crookedness of my teeth. So all I was doing was getting those parts to the same shade as the rest.

If I ended up with yellow squares post-braces, then I'd just bleach again until those squares went white.

Those whitening strips will definately whiten your teeth. I have only used 1/2 the package and I can already see a difference.

What I would suggest you use is Targon. This is the smokers rinse, like Listerine. It will remove a lot of the staining. I am a heavy coffee drinker and at some one else's recommendation I tried it. It will keep your teeth pretty white if you follow the directions of twice a day usage.

Hey spimpy,

I like to stay away from chemicals as much as possible, and I've found that a baking soda & tea tree oil paste works pretty well, especially if you have clear bands. Use about 1/2 teaspoon of soda, maybe 6 drops of oil (it's strong stuff) and a few drops of water to make a paste. Your gums will tingle and it will kill bacteria & help heal chafes.

Braced: July 19, 2006
Estimated tx time: 18 - 24 months

Have you ever seen a ten year old car that had a pinstripe on it and now it has been removed? I would HIGHLY suggest you do not try this!!