How to Maintain White Teeth With Braces

Orthodontists often install braces to correct your smile by adhering brackets and wires to your teeth. Clinical data shows that teeth with braces can become discolored because food gets in between the wires and brackets. This contributes to the accumulation of plaque, which leads to spots and stains on your teeth once the brackets are off. If you want to maintain white teeth while you’re wearing braces, here are some of the effective tools that make this possible.
 

Electric Toothbrush

Dentists and orthodontists alike say that electric toothbrushes can whiten your teeth by lifting the stains on the surface of your teeth. An electric toothbrush doesn’t have any chemical agents that can alter the coloration of your teeth, but clinical findings indicate that the rapid motion of an electric toothbrush can strip off the often-stubborn particles that adhere to your teeth. If you have delicate gums, you can adjust the speed to fit your level of sensitivity. Since you’re wearing braces, it is best to use specialized orthodontic toothbrush heads.
 

Whitening Trays

Dental experts also recommend the use of custom-fit whitening trays and a bleaching gel to whiten your teeth while you’re wearing braces. This method requires about 30 minutes to one hour during each use, but you should achieve the results you want in just about two to three weeks. Wearing the tray for that long may cause some tooth or gum sensitivity, but if you do not have a reaction, you can wear the whitening tray for up to two hours every day. Orthodontists say that this method can only apply to teeth with lingual braces and not to teeth with traditional braces.
 

Whitening Strips

Using these strips is an effective, safe, and affordable teeth-whitening method you can do at home if you have clear aligners or lingual braces. If you use whitening strips and you’re wearing traditional braces, you’ll have two-tone coloration on your teeth once your brackets come off. Dental specialists say that whitening strips work by applying them over your teeth once or twice each day and leaving them on for about 45 minutes. They add that these strips have peroxide or a bleaching agent, which can only whiten the outermost layer of the teeth.
 

Whitening Mouthwash and Toothpaste

According to dentists, these products have substances that scrub away stains on your teeth, whatever type of braces you have. Some of them may also have certain chemicals that aid in eliminating stains. Whitening mouthwash protects your teeth from new stains and freshens your breath. For optimal effects, brush with your whitening toothpaste about two or three times daily and gargle your whitening mouthwash at least once every day.

Whitening your teeth when you have braces is easy to do, especially with the help of your dentist or orthodontist. We, at Ofir Orthodontics, can help whiten your teeth as you go through the experience of wearing braces. Having a bright, aligned smile is possible in our book. Come and visit our orthodontist office in Downey, California, or feel free to call us at 562-396-9820 if you want to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions about our teeth-whitening methods.