Is there a way to whiten teeth with braces?

[Anonymous]

My DD has braces and her teeth have been getting more and more yellow. She's self-conscious about it and I'm wondering if there's a (safe) way to whiten her teeth that won't harm the teeth or the braces? TIA to anyone who's BTDT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has braces and her teeth have been getting more and more yellow. She's self-conscious about it and I'm wondering if there's a (safe) way to whiten her teeth that won't harm the teeth or the braces? TIA to anyone who's BTDT.

[Anonymous]

The best thing to do is improve her oral hygiene. Is she using an electric tooth brush and a water pic? That's about all there is to do. She can use a whitening toothpaste, because they are mild. The electric tooth brush makes a big difference.

[Anonymous]

No. Nothing aside from good oral hygiene. You cannot bleach the teeth because where the braces cover will be a different color.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not, our ortho said do not even use whitening toothpaste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not, our ortho said do not even use whitening toothpaste.

Mine didn't care if I used the supermarket stuff, but I used sensodyne generally, anyway. (I posted above)

OP - I think the difference of opinion here suggests talking to your ortho.

I still recommend the electric toothbrush. Makes a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, everyone. Oral hygiene is not a problem here - she uses an electric toothbrush and water pic, as well as flossing. Her toothpaste is a whitening toothpaste - the ortho never told us not to use it and it's what the whole family uses so she's just continued with it. I'm going to check to see if she's using enough toothpaste - that might be the problem.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Adult with new braces here (second timer here and whitening toothpaste wasn't available when I had braces the first time many years ago). I would definitely talk to your ortho about which toothpaste to use. When my braces were put on, both the ortho and the assistant mentioned at least 5 times to use regular, not whitening toothpaste, so I am really surprised that this was not discussed with you. They said that if I used whitening toothpaste, I would have lines on my teeth when the braces are removed. My ortho also recommends that adults see the dentist more frequently so I go every 4 months instead of 6. Maybe that would help your dd as well.

[Anonymous]

Schedule more frequent cleanings with her dentist. Our dentist recommended dd have cleanings every 3 months while in braces. Insurance didn't cover it, but they gave us a bit of a discount and it was well worth it.