Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello,

I've seen a lot of threads about teeth whitening products for after braces. Has anyone found a product that works particularly well to whiten teeth while the braces are still on? I'm taking ever more pride in my straightening smile and would love to whiten them--they look "dingy." What products are on the market? What works? What doesn't? Any other tips?

I look forward to hearing from everyone!!

I use Lysterine Whitening mouthwash, it's just a mild peroxide rinse that seems to keep my teeth white since I've had braces.

Thanks KK, you taught me something about the whitening part. I was one of those who had been told not to use whitening paste or mouthwash for fear of leaving the parts under the brackets "unwhitened" when I took them off.
I'm one of those bad people who smoke, so it didn't take long for my teeth to begin looking dingy and I worried if this was going to become a major problem as I start trying to eat staining foods and whatnot as well.
I was also worried when they took the brackets off in 19 and a half months that I was going to have semi-white squares in the middle lol. A lot of staining can build up in that time, so if I can even use whitening pastes to try and balance the stains from accumulating, I'm happy!!

I can't really see that a bit of whitening while in braces would hurt. Unless you go mad with the whitening you won't get squares because all you're doing is taking the teeth back to the colour they were before they were braced. And even if you did get squares, all you'd have to do would be to whiten after debanding to get rid of them. A lot of people choose to whiten after debanding anyway, to get a nice white smile with their newly straightened teeth.

but that's just my opinion and I could well be wrong.

My orthodontist's assistant told me no whitening (toothpaste, mouthwash or anything else) because it'll cause whitening around your brackets and when your braces come off it'll look funny. Then when you whiten after the braces are off it will probably look wierd due to it making the white part whiter and the dark part where your brackets were will not whiten the same amount if that makes sense. It's harder to word than I thought. I would talk to your orthodontist about it...GOOD LUCK!

Yah, stay away from whitening. I have always used whitening toothpaste and it's never made much of a difference but with my braces i still used it because it didn't make much of a difference but now i c little white marks on the bottom of my teeth (my front teeth) because of the toothpaste.

i'm still wondering y it works now....

whitening toothpaste . . . does not contain any bleach . . . Colgate with . . . Peroxide

Ummm, let's check Wikipedia:

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a very pale blue liquid which appears colourless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. It is a weak acid. It has strong oxidizing properties and is therefore a powerful bleaching agent that has found use as a disinfectant, as an oxidizer, and in rocketry (particularly in high concentrations as high-test peroxide (HTP) as a monopropellant), and in bipropellant systems.

(emphasis mine) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide

FYI---Consumer Reports did a study on whitening toothpastes and found cheap-o UltraBright to be the most "whitening". I don't think it even contains peroxide, which IS a bleach.

I use to use Ultrabrite years ago and it alway keep my teeth nice and white. I recently decided to use it again due to its $.97 Wally World price tag. I brush so much now that a tube of toothpaste does not last very long.

Meryaten, I wouldn't say that its overly abraisive. But my teeth do feel cleaner compare to the Colgate anti-cavity paste I was using before. And after two days of use, my teeth look as if I've whitened again. Ultrabrite is just really good at removing surface stains. Really makes those brackets sparkle!

I am a spammer. Me and my entire country of India have just been banned.

Many Orthodontists believe that belaching while wearing braces will leave un-bleached areas under the braces after they are removed. This is entirely UNTRUE. Teeth bleach from the inside out, not the outside in. Once the material permeates the enamel it migrates throughout the enamel and bleaches out the stains, even under braces.

golfinjesse wrote:Many Orthodontists believe that belaching while wearing braces will leave un-bleached areas under the braces after they are removed. This is entirely UNTRUE. Teeth bleach from the inside out, not the outside in. Once the material permeates the enamel it migrates throughout the enamel and bleaches out the stains, even under braces.

Sorry to say, you are not correct!

bbsadmin wrote:

golfinjesse wrote:Many Orthodontists believe that belaching while wearing braces will leave un-bleached areas under the braces after they are removed. This is entirely UNTRUE. Teeth bleach from the inside out, not the outside in. Once the material permeates the enamel it migrates throughout the enamel and bleaches out the stains, even under braces.

Sorry to say, you are not correct!

Lynn I have to fully agree with you on this statement. "golfinjesse" provide proof to backup your claim in the mean time it's false information.