Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi,
noticed that my ligs have become yellowish.. (dont even know why I hardly drink coffee or much tea, same with currys etc.)
my next ortho appointment is in 1.5 weeks, but can i do anything until then to make them look whiter maybe? have an event coming up this weekend..

thanks in advance for any help!!

I stained my ligs two weeks ago!! I wanted to just taste a samosa that my hubs was eating and didn't realize it was seasoned w/ curry. So my pearl ligs turned GREENISH YELLOW and for the next week following, I barely smiled due to embarrasment. BUT we went swimming this past weekend and my ligs are now a faint yellow and blend in with my not-so-white teeth. So perhaps the chlorine did the trick?

Once ligs are stained the best you can hope for is a lightening of the stain. If you don't have a swimming pool handy, you can try Arm and Hammer Baking Soda and Peroxide toothpaste. But honestly, in my 29 months in braces I have found that there is really nothing to be done when ligs get yellow except to get them changed out. Unless you plan eating nothing but clear and white food and drink for the duration of your treatment, ligs simply get yellow with time. I am assuming you have clear brackets? You don't mention what color ligs you are currently using, but you may want to try smoke or light gray in the future. Those still turn yellow (ish) but seem to be more tolerable when they do.

thanks for your replies..
yep, got clear brackets, believe my ligs were white or clear, i could not notice them until now (2 months in)
hmm baking soda? worth a try. anyone tried any particular brand of whitening toothpaste that worked?

If it is a really big event maybe the doc can squeeze you in early for your adjustment visit or even to just change out the ligatures.

Hmm i could try to get an appointment, but not very optimistic!
Whilst brushing my teeth I was thinking maybe its the bright green mouth wash that i use that is staining my ligs? i have started to use it after every time i am brushing, so about 3 times a day..
maybe i should try one of this "stay white" mouthwashes, anyone tried those? there's one from Listerine for example, or there's also Orthodontic mouthwash..

my office will always get me in to change out my ligs, no questions asked.....I haven't taken advantage of it either--I don't want to annoy them coming in every week, so when I call they know I really want them changed--like because I ate curry, or have an event, or whatever...they've been very accomodating--it's worth a try, if you have an event to go to! I usually call a few days ahead--so they are not cramming me in--once I was will to come on a tues/wed before a weekend event, and the secretary said--no, no lets get it as close to the weekend as possible---it could be worth a try!

I hear ya! That was my biggest surprise with this whole thing--how quickly they discolor. For a time, I was convinced that the "pearl" color kept longer than the "clear" but now I'm not so sure. My office wouldn't care if I dropped by every week to have them changed--they've offered that a lot. I've only taken advantage of it once so far, but actually dropped in to get a lig back on and had them all changed since I was there. If I have a big event or something, perhaps I'll take advantage of their kindness.

MonaMoore wrote:Hmm i could try to get an appointment, but not very optimistic!
Whilst brushing my teeth I was thinking maybe its the bright green mouth wash that i use that is staining my ligs? i have started to use it after every time i am brushing, so about 3 times a day..
maybe i should try one of this "stay white" mouthwashes, anyone tried those? there's one from Listerine for example, or there's also Orthodontic mouthwash..

Your mouthwash may have a small effect on your ligs changing color. I remember that when I first started lurking around the board over 2 years ago there was a theory going around that anything that will stain a white T-shirt will stain clear and light colored ligatures. I thought it was ridiculous at the time, but unfortunately I really have found it to be true. I have tried whitening products and found that they don't really help. I think this is due to the fact that the ligs actually absorb stain. Whitening toothpaste and mouthwash will only work on surface stains on the teeth.

If you don't feel you can call your ortho to get your ligs changed, at least take heart in knowing that no one is going to be looking so closely at your teeth to notice a bit of yellowing on your ligs. Really. I'm an insanely fastidious person, and the slight yellowing I get does not bother me anymore because other people really do not notice at all.

actually i think they are better already i gave up the green mouth wash (have yet to buy/find a replacement that doesnt stain), and brushed them with an extra whitening tooth paste for a bit, in adition to using a sensitive whitening one regularly, so that does the trick for me it seems. as i don't smoke, don't eat curries, don't drink red wine, etc.. so am quite good really anyway (when it comes to consuming staining food and drink )
thanks again for your replies.