Metal Mouth Message Board

I had my ortho appt today about putting on my braces.... my ortho suggested I bleach my teeth BEFORE I get the braces put on (I'm doing the clear on top, metal on bottom) since he said the brackets will blend in better if my teeth are whiter. It's an extra $260! Is this something some of you had to do before braces too? Or is it something I can skip? I would assume it would be better to do that AFTER the braces come off.... just curious.

I bleached mine before and I'm going to do it again after. I use whitening toothpaste so that my teeth won't be yellow around the bracket when they come off. It might be a good idea just so your teeth look nicer.

One thing I thought of is if your teeth are really crooked so that they overlap it might not be a good idea because the bleach won't be able to get to some parts of your teeth, then once they are straight they could be two-colored.

A quick note on whitening toothpaste; my ortho told me not to use whitening toothpaste while in braces cos it can leaves spots on your teeth where the brackets were as the toothpaste whitens the tooth around it.

I personally don't think the "whitening" toothpastes are that strong but I'd rather not find out the hard way!

Thanks for all your advice! I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna do the whiteneing yet, but will keep you posted. I just don't know how I'm gonna afford the braces period, on top of that, the whitening. Plus, I will ask about whitening toothpaste. That's what I use now, but I will see if I need to swich once the braces go on. Lots of good feedback, so thank you!! This is my first time with braces and I'm 32, so I need all the education I can get!

Hi, I just used Crest White strips, Fast and simple:)

JumpTheDitch wrote:A quick note on whitening toothpaste; my ortho told me not to use whitening toothpaste while in braces cos it can leaves spots on your teeth where the brackets were as the toothpaste whitens the tooth around it.

I personally don't think the "whitening" toothpastes are that strong but I'd rather not find out the hard way!

My ortho gave me a tube of WHITENING TOOTHPASTE!!

He told me to not worry about using toothpaste that makes claims to be whitening, due to the tiny amount of 'whitening' ingredients in them. He said if toothpaste could do that, then there'd be a load of 'smile brit' type places closing down!

My dentist has since told me that this type of toothpaste is pretty good at keeping NEW stains from sticking but does almost nothing for the old discoloration of teeth.

Is your ortho the one who would do the whitening (re: make more $$?). I've not heard of this and my immediate family has had consults with 4 different orthos over the past few years, NON of them recommended this.