Metal Mouth Message Board

I've had my braces on for 5 weeks now. My teeth have always been quite yellow (apparently it's a sign they are strong - or is this just a myth) but since having the braces it is much more noticeable. Do you think this is just because I'm paying a lot more attention to my teeth? What I've really noticed is that my bottom teeth appear to be more yellow underneath the brackets (metal damon brackets). I don't think it's plaque because I am cleaning really well. Has anyone else noticed this? I intend to get them whitened after braces & before having an implant or crown, but I'm very conscious of how they appear now.

I have read several posts over the years about this phenomenon and the consensus was: it's an illusion that your teeth are more yellow when you have braces. Teeth are translucent. When you put a bracket on them, light cannot pass though the teeth thus making them look darker or more yellow.

Now in some cases the teeth could really be more yellow due to plaque build-up around the bracket, but barring that, I think the trick of the light answer makes sense.

I witnessed this first hand when some of my brackets were repositioned. I saw my front teeth side by side with one tooth having a bracket on it and the other not. The one without a bracket looked much whiter.

The cement also tends to make your teeth look discolored.

I think it also may have to do with the fact that you are paying more attention to your teeth. Since having braces, you probably look at your teeth more closely.

Thanks - it's an interesting thought that it might be an illusion. I think the cement has something to do with it as well. I did have a bit on my teeth after having the brace fitted. I had to go back within a couple of days because a bracket had come off & my ortho started to clean the excess cement off but my teeth were so sensitive he could tell it was hurting. My ortho is very considerate & said he'd get the rest of the cement off at my first adjustment.
Oh well, I'll just have to put up with yellow teeth until it's all over.

I can totally relate- I had pretty white teeth before braces, even the assistant who put them on commented how white they were, and now they look gross. I've only had them 2 weeks and I brush religiously, so I don't think its anything I'm doing. Just one of those things we have to deal with!

I can also relate. My teeth have never been super white and now they appear much duller/more yellow. I have upper and lower ceramics and it almost seems worse (than wire). I know we are not supposed to use whitening toothpaste at this point but I find that Tom's of Maine makes my teeth a little brighter so I use it once a day. Hopefully when my brackets are removed I won't regret it.

Yes same here! The yellowing is very discouraging and the more you look at them the yellower they become. I sometimes rinse with peroxide and water and I believe it helps, it's also a good antiseptic mouthwash. I will also be getting my teeth bleached when my braces are off, this will be gift for myself for going through this journey.

A lot of it is the illusion the braces create on translucent teeth. My teeth looked really yellow while I was in braces. However, when I got them off I was startled to see how white they actually were. I'm still planning to do a little bit of whitening but I don't need to do anywhere near as much as I was anticipating.

I just had my teeth cleaned on Monday. I had noticed my teeth seemed yellower under my bottom brackets (close to my gums) so I asked the dental assistant about it and she told me that it was an optical illusion and my teeth were no more yellow than they had been before. It has to do with the light, bracket position on the tooth, and sometimes the cement. She assured me my teeth would look fine after the brackets come off in the next 14 months! I'm still going to get them whitened after all is said and done but I was glad that no extra staining or tarter buildup had occurred So no worries, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful smile!

I noticed the yellow worst right after i get new ligs put on. I'm all happy walking out of the ortho, till i get in my car and look in the mirror. I also noticed purple ligs made my teeth look the worst. I will not be using that color again anytime soon.