Metal Mouth Message Board

A wire tie snapped off tonight, but luckily I have my monthly appointment tomorrow. The contrast between the yellowed-lig and the no-lig is horrific!



In a way it's confirmation of a decision I made earlier today: to go for bright pink ligs on the top as well as the bottom. Usually I keep my ligs fairly unstained, but it took one curry to canary them out.

Earlier today I even did a little Photoshop experiment to see what bright pink ligs would look like compared to clear (I "painted" them on so they look a bit wonky, but the general impression is there):

I like the pink.

Quick question for you. Are you sorry that you got ceramic on top because of the lig staining issue? Because I keep thinking I wish I had gotten ceramic and am thinking about asking the doc. Just wonderin'.

Thanks,

jcdamon3 wrote:I like the pink.

Quick question for you. Are you sorry that you got ceramic on top because of the lig staining issue? Because I keep thinking I wish I had gotten ceramic and am thinking about asking the doc. Just wonderin'.

Thanks,

Not at all - I am very happy about the ceramic - for several reasons:

1. With new, clear ligs, I can get a near 100% "invisibility" effect if needed
2. I can choose any colours I like, just as with metal, including wire ties
3. The colours look really pretty/bright against ceramic

But I think either is fine. The metal ones do seem a lot smaller than ceramic, and are said to be tougher.

what color were the ligs that yellowed? i'm using pearl and they seem pretty good. however, you also have naturally bright bright teeth (so jealous!) my teeth are naturally more of a cream color i guess, so when the ligs go on, they are brighter than my teeth and maybe that's why they stay ok on me longer.

I have the same as KK. 3M Clarity on my Social Six. I have also stained my ligs before and have learned from that. I really like black coffee, so I backed down from that. I also use the mouthwash without alcohol in it. I've been told that the alcohol breaks down the ligatures and makes them easy to stain. Another thing is no curry until a day or two before my adjustment appointment. But over all I like the ceramic with the clear ligatures.

I have light pink ligs on top, and I like them. They aren't too bright, and they stood up to the curry test (mmmmmmmm, THAI FOOD TWO DAYS IN A ROW). My skin tone is pretty light, so I feel like they blend better in general. I have metal braces, so people are going to see them no matter what, but it's nice that they look more like a part of me than a crayon box experiment.

dena wrote:what color were the ligs that yellowed? i'm using pearl and they seem pretty good. however, you also have naturally bright bright teeth (so jealous!) my teeth are naturally more of a cream color i guess, so when the ligs go on, they are brighter than my teeth and maybe that's why they stay ok on me longer.

They did come out the colour in that pic, though I think the blue-whiteness of the bottom is the camera flash being flattering, the ivory colour at the top is more uniform all the way down.

What I did photoshop out was some horrid staining that I am getting underneath the wire, where it's harder to clean, because I felt embarrassed about it Yellowy-brown patches, worsened by the shadow of the wire. You can still see it in the crack between them. But the top of the tooth and the bottom of the tooth - ie above and below where the bracket starts and finishes - I left as they are.

I had custom bleaching trays a year and a half ago, and they were brilliantly effective: previously my "fangs" were bright yellow compared to the front teeth, and it bleached them right down. My teeth have yellowed back a bit, but they are still quite a bit whiter than they were before the treatment, and most importantly their colour is even - no more yellow fangs. So bleaching does last a good long time. And I will get them rebleached after my braces are off, especially if the hygienist can't get all the stain off.

The ligs were the totally clear, colourless ones.

I would love it if someone could give experience about how to get those stains off your teeth. I just had some brackets repositioned and they had to get the glue off. They removed the stains while in the process and I was so happy. I have since gotten a sonicare but I am hoping someone can give some info/tips on keeping those spots off my teeth! Myabe I should open a new topic?

Thanks!

jcdamon3 wrote:I would love it if someone could give experience about how to get those stains off your teeth. I just had some brackets repositioned and they had to get the glue off. They removed the stains while in the process and I was so happy. I have since gotten a sonicare but I am hoping someone can give some info/tips on keeping those spots off my teeth! Myabe I should open a new topic?

Thanks!

Oh please do! And thank you for sharing that you also get them - I was getting very paranoid about mine, thinking I wasn't brushing enough or something. I'm using the wirebrush and everything, I've even tried using whitening toothpaste, but they're getting worse

weird_wired wrote:

jcdamon3 wrote:I would love it if someone could give experience about how to get those stains off your teeth. I just had some brackets repositioned and they had to get the glue off. They removed the stains while in the process and I was so happy. I have since gotten a sonicare but I am hoping someone can give some info/tips on keeping those spots off my teeth! Myabe I should open a new topic?

Thanks!

Oh please do! And thank you for sharing that you also get them - I was getting very paranoid about mine, thinking I wasn't brushing enough or something. I'm using the wirebrush and everything, I've even tried using whitening toothpaste, but they're getting worse

I am not experiencing any sort of tooth staining at all. Maybe its because I've only been braced 2 months? What I do is use my proxybrush EVERYTIME I brush...and I brush everytime I eat. I don't put toothpaste on the proxybrush but maybe that could help?

i haven't had them on long enough to know for sure, but have u tried the rotadent? i just got this electric toothbrush and it has a pointed tip that goes right up under the archwire.