brown stains on teeth?

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#1 Post by **ladybug26** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:15 am

Hello all, newbie here.
I am starting trays number 8/29 (U & L) this evening. The information I have read here has definitely been so helpful in this journey! I am hoping I can get some feedback about this current issue I am having.

All of a sudden, I am noticing brown spots/stains on a few of my teeth. It appears as though the stains are on spots that were previously between teeth, i.e. spots that were never visable before. It is mostly on the bottom front teeth, since those are doing the most movement at this time. I can also see what looks like a line on the bottom of a few teeth, which looks to me like where the gumline used to be before the tooth moved. My husband says they are not as noticeable as I am making them out to be, but they are definitely there.

Does this make sense? Are the stains just from teeth moving and showing parts that were not visable before? Can they be removed when I go in for a cleaning in a few weeks? I go back to get more aligners 2 weeks from today and I plan to ask about this, but it is driving me crazy now! I find that I am incredibly self-conscious of them. Luckily, my bottom teeth do not show much when I talk or smile but I can see it every time I look in the mirror. I am very careful about flossing/brushing/rinsing after every meal and snack, not eating/drinking with them in, etc. I have cut back to only one cup of coffee (not even drinking it black) in the morning and no soda. I have never seen these stains before.

Please help - I am so worried that my teeth will all be straight finally and I will be left with these stains! Thanks!

#2 Post by **Phantom Muse** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:07 am

Ladybug,

I just went in for a cleaning with my dentist, and I had a few spots as you describe and they came right off with the cleaning! Even though I have always been very fastidious with hygiene, I think it must be difficult for even an experienced hygienist to get to those tough spots surrounding crooked teeth. Now that those spots are accessible, you should have good luck getting them clean.

I think this is one reason the ADA talks about how straight teeth leads to better hygiene - you can't clean what you can't get to with a brush or dental tool!

Good luck!

#3 Post by **ladybug26** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:19 pm

Thank you so much for your experience and response. I do think that is all it is, and hopefully the hygenist will be able to remove it all when I see her in a few weeks! I also got out my Sonicare toothbrush (which I got lazy about using pre-Invisalign) and I will see if that helps in the meantime.

Thanks again!