Just got braces... so disappointed

[kteva0421]

So I am new to this forum, just got my braces on Monday. I am 26 years old, full time student/SAHM with 2 kids, so I went with the ceramic self ligating(sp?) My teeth look so yellow :( no matter how many times I brush they look yucky and gunky. I been doing alot of research and it seems that its not a good idea to try to whiten your smile with braces? Really, I have cried over this. I feel like I'm going to suffer with a dirty looking mouth forever.. orthodontist said 27 months... I wish I would of just got the metal braces. They did put a white power chain (already staining) in the front over 5 teeth to make room for my impacted canine. I should be getting my wisdom teeth removed and exposure of my canine in 10-12 weeks. I go back to the orthodontist in 6weeks so he can see how my teeth are shifting... Has anyone else had this experience??? Is there anything I can do???

[EWUgal15]

Don't panic! Sometimes the glue that is used to bond your brackets to your teeth yellows a little bit. At your next appointment, either with the dentist for cleaning or an orthodontic adjustment, ask if they can grind some of the excess glue off. As far as whitening goes with braces, I recommend using the Sensodyne Pronamel with Gentle Whitening once a day. It's better than nothing and its good for your teeth.

And with the staining powerchains, I've heard (but I don't have clear brackets, so I don't know for sure) that smoke is a good color to use because it doesn't stain too badly. If you drink coffee or tea, try drinking it through a straw so that the contact with your brackets is minimized.

Now that you have braces, you'll spend a lot more time staring at them. Especially since they are so new. Once you're used to seeing them in your mouth and you've adjusted to how they feel 24x7, you won't spend as much time staring at them. It takes some adjustment, but you'll get there and you'll be alright

[djspeece]

Part of the issue (as mentioned above) may be that you are simply paying more attention to the color of your teeth now that you have braces; another option is that artificial light may make your teeth look more yellow than they really are. Mine look more yellow under the lights in my bathroom but not too bad in natural sunlight, although I do plan on a whitening program ASAP after they are removed (hopefully within a few more months).

[kteva0421]

Thanks for the replies. After reading, I took my nail and scraped my top teeth,,,, and there is definitely some residue that feels gritty... almost like nails on a chalk board...ewww... But it did give me some relief that this could be the cause, hopefully the orthodontist will be able to get it off at my next appointment in 6weeks..

[tartanhabit]

I feel the same way. I always knew my teeth weren't sparkling white but I did do some white strips whitening before getting clear damon braces last week. Ugh, my teeth look horribly yellow - I think it may be the contrast between the brackets which are clear but look white against my teeth. I figure my mouth is going to look all jacked up for a while but once the ortho problems are taken care of, you bet I'm going to get some kind of Hollywood white thing going on! Trouble is, some of mine may be tetracycline staining (thank you early 1970s antibiotic treatment regimes). This is all fixable, I hope, but maybe not in the time frame you'd want.

[ortho74]

As some other posters said, you may be more aware now, and the glue does leave a gritty yellow feel around the brackets. I had clear before and noticed the staining, especially with white ligatures or chains, so when I had them put on again several years later I went with all metal. Thought that if people notice what difference does it make and I think metal are easier to clean. You might ask your ortho if they will do bracket repositioning, and if you wanted to switch they might let you do it then. At least you would have it as an option.