Metal Mouth Message Board

I have metal braces but I still feel my teeth will never look as white as they once did. I am fairly good with brushing my teeth especially after meals but any suggestions?

I have ceramic on top and metal on the bottom. Sometimes my bottoms look a little on the gray side, next to the brackets. Before I got the braces, my teeth were really white. I brought this up with my ortho and my hygenist, they both said that metal brackets can make the teeth appear to be not so white. Which I believe because I can see the difference between the two.

I also have some days when my teeth look really white and other days when they don't. I am not going to worry about this too much because I plan on getting them whitened after the braces come off.

I bet no one notices the change except you.

My teeth were never as white like you see in some people, but I am OK with it, and like Snowglobe32, I am planning to treat myself with some professional whitening after braces...but until then I use different kinds of tooth paste, now I have 3 kinds, and every time I brush I use a different one...and one of them has whitening...after a week of using it I noticed that my teeth were much whiter than before...I was thinking "it's impossible for it to work that fast!!!!"........and it was......the reason my teeth looked so white was because I've been tanning in my backyard for the past week....
Soooooooooooo, the cheapest way to whiten your teeth.....GET SOME SUNTAN!!!!!!!!
.....it works.

I have had good luck with Listerine whitening mouth rinse, once a day.
And I don't drink coffee...

Arent you not supposed to use whitening toothpaste with braces as it will cause yellow spots where the brackets are placed?
Thats what I heard anyways.. and it makes sense to me, so I only use regular toothpaste. One the braces are off I will probably use whitestrips and start using the whitening toothpaste and mouthwash regularly though.

I whitened my teeth before I got braces and I use UltraBrite toothpaste. I didnt have any issues with stains or bracket spots. I also brushed after every meal or sugary drink.