what kind of toothpaste do you use?

[anngie27]

now that i'll be braced in a month, I am obsessing about what kind toothpaste and mouthwash to use.
Any help would be appreciated. If there is an old thread i've missed that has great answers, please send the link
Thanks!

[lau]

hey! i was using Sensodyne just in case because my teeth have gotten a little bit sensitive with them moving but after 3 months they started to look yellowish (I brush like 4 times per day but I drink LOTS of coffee) so I switched to Colgate Total plus Whitening. And after 3 days my teeth look great now. i checked my ortho first and he said it was fine. i recommend it.

[Domino]

(Not sure if this is UK specific) I plan on using Colgate Total Advanced for my toothpaste and Listerine Total Care for my mouthwash. They're what I always try to use, as I believe them to be two of the best I'm not sure how great they are with braces, but I assume they'll be fine. Any advice from anyone would be cool!

I also have Oral-B Pro Expert toothpaste lying around to alternate to if I want/need to. I find it doesn't taste as nice as Colgate, though.

[workingmomma]

Hi Angie,

I've been using the Colgate sensitive plus whitening toothpaste and the Oral B mouthwash. It's been a big help because of the scrapes the braces gave my gums and lips. Good luck with your braces.

WorkingMomma

[AM21]

I use Colgate Total with enamel strengthening toothpaste and ACT anticavity fluoride mouthwash. (the green one)

[BracedInNOLA]

Interstingly, my ortho recommended NOT using whitening toothpaste, to keep color constant between the enamel under the brackets and outside. He said listerine of any flavor, and likes the colgate phos-fluor fluoride.

[Domino]

Interstingly, my ortho recommended NOT using whitening toothpaste, to keep color constant between the enamel under the brackets and outside.

Odd advice! Surely gradual staining will affect the colour anyway, so wouldn't whitening toothpaste prevent the stains and maintain the matching colour? From what I've heard, anyway, whitening toothpaste can only keep your natural whiteness, it cannot actually whiten your teeth: that requires professional bleaching.

[sea54change]

I use Sensodyne, as my teeth are very sensitive to temp changes. I prefer water to be at almost room temp. At restuarants I always ask for water without ice.

I think my dentist told me a long time ago that whitening toothpastes would make my teeth more sensitive to cold.

[sirwired]

Colgate Sensitive Whitening, generic Listerine after every meal, and generic ACT at bedtime for the fluoride.

[anngie27]

thanks everyone! I had read whitening toothpastes were the thing to avoid in braces but will wait to see what my ortho says when I get braced.
Are you all using electric toothbrushes or manual? I have an electric one and a little worried I might break a bracket off with it. I don't even want to think about what a pain flossing will be ( I already have trouble gettting my back teeth now and I'm not even in braces )

[workingmomma]

I bought a new oral b 3000 just for the braces, and take a battery operated crest spin like one with me when I go out.

[sirwired]

thanks everyone! I had read whitening toothpastes were the thing to avoid in braces but will wait to see what my ortho says when I get braced.
Are you all using electric toothbrushes or manual? I have an electric one and a little worried I might break a bracket off with it. I don't even want to think about what a pain flossing will be ( I already have trouble gettting my back teeth now and I'm not even in braces )

I'm using an Oral-B Vitality (the cheap rechargable one.) The trick with brushing teeth, manual or electric, braces or not, is to let the brush do the work, not your muscles. You aren't scrubbing soap scum off of bathroom tile... the bristles are "scrubby" enough that just rubbing them across the teeth repeatedly with just a little bit of pressure is sufficient. To brush, I simply make five passes across each arch, applying just enough pressure so that the bristles make contact with the whole surface of the tooth they need to be scrubbing. One perpendicular pass against the half of the tooth nearest the gumline, a 45-degree pass towards the archwire above and below it, a pass over the molars, and a pass on the lingual side. If you use a manual, you pretty much replicate what the electric does by making short light strokes (circular is generally best.)

After three months (when you should replace it), your toothbrush should still look gently used. If the bristles are splayed all over the place, you've been brushing too hard.

You won't rip the brackets off the teeth unless you do something really stupid with the toothbrush, like bite it hard. It's not quite superglue they use, but it's pretty tough stuff, and it's practically part of your tooth enamel. (When they debond the bracket, they remove the bracket from the glue, not the glue from your teeth.) You are far more likely to pop it by eating one of the "forbidden" foods, like hard candy, nuts, popcorn, etc. (If you bend the tie wings with enough force, you duplicate exactly what the ortho does to remove the brackets.)

For floss, if you have crowding problems, use Glide Threader Floss; most drugstores should have it, as do most Big Box stores and Amazon. It's still tougher than regular flossing (mostly because it's tedious, but you'll get pretty good at it after a couple of weeks; don't be afraid to really stretch your lips back in order to get to the back), but it's about fifty times better than the floss threaders your ortho will likely give you, and Glide squeezes between teeth a lot better than any other brand of floss. It's about six bucks for a month's worth.

[kellyb]

i am using "colgate regular" morning and night and "oral b pro expert" after lunch. i also use oral b mouthwash

[Loztredders]

I use colgate Oxygen toothpaste and colgate fluorigard (alcohol free).

[chris500]

i use colgate total and so far, so good!