Which foods / drinks stain ligs the worst?

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#1 Post by **catgyrl** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:15 pm

Hi everyone-

I have an adjustment coming up on Friday, and noticed yesterday that my clear ligs are horribly stained after just 3 weeks. It's not that noticeable if one would just stand in front of me and talk to me... but I took a pic and zoomed in and yep... nice yellow tinge there.

I don't smoke; am not a coffee or tea drinker; I HATE curry, and although I have a Ramen addiction (I'm broke AND live in Hawaii, so I eat a ton of the stuff), I switched to one that does not have tumeric in it. So, I think the culprits for me have to be soda and ketchup. (Trying to just drink non-colored soft drinks, but I looooooove my Pepsi!)

I was wondering which foods and drinks stain ligs the WORST.

I am currently perusing the "Lig Colors" thread to get some ideas on possible lig colors (other than clear), but I thought I'd post my general question here.

Thanks-
Cathy

#2 Post by **abaglady** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:05 pm

Hi,

My Ortho said that orange juice would cause staining, which I found surprising, along with the things you'd expect, e.g. anything with turmeric (I think this is the worst culprit), coffee, tea, cola etc. Lots of spices other than turmeric probably have an effect too, though a lesser one. However, I think being realistic, clear ligs are bound to discolour a bit through being in contact with everything you eat and drink, no matter how careful you are.

I hear that some orthos do white wire ties instead of clear ligs - I was thinking about asking about them. One thing I have noticed is that the staining seems to fade - I have had a couple of turmeric-heavy meals that have made them quite yellow, but they don't seem anything like as bad now. A good scrub with whitening toothpaste might be what does it (just the regular sort that is for stains etc).

I read somewhere that the 'smoke' coloured ligs were good for resisting staining (I think light grey), but I don't think I want to go down that route myself. Something to think about though...

Good luck!

#3 Post by **roost22** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:16 pm

Try some colored ligs like bright blue or black they look good and do not stain look in lig colors thread under meryaten she had ceramics and posted pictures with colors all the time. I get mine off tomorrow after 21 months. Woo hoo!!!

#4 Post by **catgyrl** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:03 pm

Thank you abaglady and roost22!

Orange juice? Oh my goodness... I love that, too.

The ortho assistant automatically put the clear ligs on me because... in her words... "Well, since you changed to ceramic, I figured you wanted them to look inconspicuous." So, she didn't even give me a chance to tell her what I wanted. Doc did joke around and ask if I wanted to try the new color they got in... BRIGHT ORANGE!

Re: black ligs: I really don't think I can pull that one off. My teeth are not the whitest in the world, and I'm very fair-skinned, so I think that may clash too much with my natural coloring.

I'm trying to weigh which looks worse: Clear/pearl ligs that end up looking slightly yellow super close-up, or colored ligs that fade and look dingy and nasty, even from afar. Hmmm.... decisions, decisions...

Thanks for the tip, roost22! I shall go look up meryaten's posts to see how her teeth looked. Good luck tomorrow!!! Please post "naked" pics! (Haha - that didn't sound right...)

-Cathy

#5 Post by **bb2811** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:23 pm

I have the wire white ties, which are great! They do make the ceramics a touch more noticeable but if I can drink and eat what I want that is a good trade off for me esp. being able to still drink coffee.

#6 Post by **catgyrl** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:10 pm

bb2811-

Do the wire ties chip at all? I've contemplated asking about them, but was worried that the white would chip off the more I brushed them. Same with the white archwire. If it's going to end up looking like half-metal anyway, I might as well stick with the metal archwire.

I don't mind them making the ceramics more noticeable. I love my ceramics, and maybe if they look whiter, my teeth would look whiter, too. haha

-Cathy

#7 Post by **bb2811** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:03 am

My white ties haven't lost the white covers - I clean with an electric toothbrush (oral b triumph) for 6 minutes (3 mins top arch 3 bottom) twice a day + all of the other stuff - they have been on for ten weeks now. At my last adjustment the ortho didnt replace them just tightened them - they are still going strong and think if they tuck the ends in close to the brackets that probably helps.
I haven't got a white archwire - but I have heard that the white cover comes off pretty quickly - maybe thats because the archwire is pretty exposed to the toothbrush....but check with your ortho, they might have changed. With all of the ligs and wires you are only stuck with them from adjustment to adjustment so if it doesn't work out its not permanent - I am going to for a colour on the bottom for a bit of fun next adjustment, thinking pink!

#8 Post by **catgyrl** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 10:54 am

bb2811-

Wow - 10 weeks? The longest I've gone between adjustments was 6 weeks (the first one), and since then it's been every 4 weeks. It would be cool if they didn't have to be changed every time.

I sent you a PM.

-Cathy

#9 Post by **hal2me** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:13 pm

Beware of mustard and iced tea!! Found out the hard way

#10 Post by **catgyrl** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:20 pm

hal2me-

LOL! Isn't that the only way we find out these things... the HARD way? I was SO happy knowing I wouldn't starve because I had all these chicken-flavored Ramen noodles to eat. Didn't realize the soup base had turmeric in it.

Thankfully, I don't like mustard OR curry, and don't drink iced tea, so those won't be a problem. I will never give up my ketchup (one of the ladies at Jack in the Box calls me "The Ketchup Lady"!) I think I'm going to have to start carrying some straws in my purse for when I can't resist having a soda at work, or something. I suppose it helps a bit.

#11 Post by **jackjack** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:54 pm

Watermelon stained my pearl ligs into neon yucky green

#12 Post by **catgyrl** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:51 am

jackjack wrote:Watermelon stained my pearl ligs into neon yucky green

jackjack-

Watermelon? Are you serious? I thought it consisted mostly of... water...? Are you sure it wasn't anything else (coffee, tea, soda, etc.) that did it? I can't imagine something red would stain your ligs green.

I've upped my toothbrushing habit a bit, spending a little more time on each ceramic bracket, and it seems to help a bit. Instead of a bright yellow, they're now a dull yellow. LOL!

#13 Post by **KatieGee** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:07 pm

Cathy, you should try light purple/lavender ligs. I had clear ligs when I was first braced and like you said, the staining isn't obvious but when you zoom in to take a picture you can see that it's there. Mine were neon yellow from chicken ramen and curry. The ortho's assistant recommended the light purple ones to me. I have coffee every morning and tea in the evening. I also just returned from Spain where I had red wine every day plus I still eat ramen with tumeric and the ligs look fine. Very up close they look a bit silvery. It's very subtle and way better than neon yellow!

I've been meaning to test my ligs at my favourite Polish restaurant. They make an awesome red beet borsch. If I go there soon and the lavender ligs withstand the beets I'll PM you to let you know! lol.

#14 Post by **catgyrl** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:13 pm

Thank you, KatieGee! That would be great. Do you have ceramic or metal brackets?

My next appointment is tomorrow, so I need to make up my mind what I'm going to do. Pearl vs. lavendar vs. clear again (and drink things with a straw). Ugh... decisions, decisions...

#15 Post by **catgyrl** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:15 pm

KatieGee-

Nevermind - I saw your other post that stated you had upper ceramics. I think I may go for lavendar, if my ortho carries them.

I'm gonna send you a PM.

-Cathy