Metal Mouth Message Board

After constantly taking photos of my teeth, I've noticed that my upper canines are a bit of a darker shade than the rest of my teeth. And now I'm asking, has these teeth probably been a bit more yellow the entiretime, but I've only just noticed due to checking my teeth more closely?

Or could it be that the pressure from my braces has made the teeth more yellow? I've heard that if someone get their teeth damaged, they might become darker. But it's not too dark, just a bit darker.

And my other question is, if the darker colour color stems from damaged due to braces, will they turn lighter if you bleech the teeth? Any thoughts highly appreciated.If you read my thread, you can see good pictures of my teeth and judge yourself:)

If you look at page 3 in my braces story, and the teeth from the profile, you can see what I'm talking about

Could be that you're not keeping the area as clean as you might think.

Another possibility is that there is some excess bonding resin or primer that is still on the teeth from your bracketing appointment. This can leave your teeth more susceptible to staining. It is nothing to worry about since it will be cleaned off when your braces are removed.

Thanks for the reassuring and the thorough reply DRJason. Can I expect this to get worse during treatment?

I had the same, went for a cleaning and it disappeared. So I would do the same: have your teeth cleaned and it should go away. If it stays, then ask your ortho or dentist...

Thanks jxds! Glad to hear that it's normal. I'll ask my ortho the next time I see him, which is in 3 weeks. I usually have cleanings once a year, which means I'll have a new cleaning in october. I automotaically get an appointment.

But is it wise to go for cleanings more often when you braces?

Staining is sadly one on the facts of braces life for many people, particularly if you like drinking tea and red wine (two of my favourites!), avoiding these will mean it won't be so bad. There are also some mouthwashes out there, notably corsodyl, that stain. I have to use this too as it helps get rid of canker sores so I tend to get quite bad staining if i'm not careful.

As the others said, all staining can be removed during a polish, but my OD recommended prevention by using lots of water to swill after eating and drinking, and staying away from the bad stuff mentioned above (not possible for me so guess i'll have to get used to it! )

Hi, descantus!

Tea, red wine and coffee. My favourites I guess I'm doomed to have yellow teeth.

I am planning to get my teeth whitened after all of the process. And I'm so happy to hear that this is most likely just some staining on the surface shich will go away sith a cleaning

The staining should go away. With braces, we recommend are patients increase their frequency of cleanings. The mouthwash commonly causing staining is Chlorhexidine, mainly used for periodontal patients.

My personal view is not to whiten right after braces come off. It is mostly the resin that is removed, but inevitably some of the enamel gets roughened up during the debond process. Make sure all the resin is removed at this time, or else staining will continue. I recommend our patients get a thorough cleaning after braces, and let the teeth go back to their natural colour before deciding on whitening. This allows the surfaces of the teeth that were not in contact with saliva during treatment to remineralize first.

Good luck!

DrJasonKTam wrote:I recommend our patients get a thorough cleaning after braces, and let the teeth go back to their natural colour before deciding on whitening. This allows the surfaces of the teeth that were not in contact with saliva during treatment to remineralize first.

Not that I have to worry about this any time soon as I am nowhere near my debanding date but how long do you recommend waiting? How long does it take the surfaces to remineralize?

An increase in the frequency of cleanings means sth like twice a year?

jxds wrote:An increase in the frequency of cleanings means sth like twice a year?

When I had braces a few years ago, I got a cleaning each quarter (4 times per year). I would highly recommend that.

my gums in the back started growing towards my brackets. So I started getting cleanings once a month. Me and my hygienest figured out that my gums were reacting to the metal brackets. So now I get cleaniongs every three months. As mentioned above if you use the mouth wash chlorahexadine (sp) it will stain. But hte cleanings will get the stain taken care of.

Just brush extra don't be sippin on sodas and juice all day long. Your just letting the sugars (even natural sugars in fruit juices) just sit on your teeth. And floss!

Feeling so ill - just took a good look at bottom teeth and the front ones seem to be going so yellow - first thought was they are dead, the braces have killed them - panic set it. It's Sunday and no one works on a Sunday! That's when more panic, collected my thoughts and come to ask you.
Have been cleaning them 3 times a day regularly. Been using an electric toothbrush so had a good clean with the normal tooth brush. Can either make a difference. Also been using OralB OxyJet.

Have decided to drink hot water instead of white tea.

What else could be doing this?

Oh forgot to mention it is yellow from the gum to the bracket - but white above!