You’ve spent the last several months diligently cleaning your teeth and braces, waiting as they’ve worked their magic to straighten your teeth. Now, it’s finally time to have them removed so you can see your teeth in all their properly aligned and straightened glory. But wait, what’s the deal with their color? And more importantly, what can you do to make them evenly white?
Professional Dental Cleaning
Sometimes the uneven coloring on your teeth is due to stains, tartar, and plaque. If that’s the case, a good, thorough, professional dental cleaning can go a long way towards improving the color of your teeth. Dentists have special tools that allow them to remove things like tartar that regular brushing and flossing can’t. Once your teeth are nice and clean, you should see them looking more even in color.
Topical Fluoride
Those white spots you may be seeing could be areas where your enamel has become decalcified due to plaque building up around your brackets and creating acids that leach minerals from your enamel. It’s important to take steps to restore the minerals in your enamel to improve both its strength and appearance. Having topical fluoride applied to your teeth is a good way to start re-mineralizing your enamel, thereby reducing the appearance of those white spots.
Whitening Treatments
Tooth whitening treatments are often the go-to method for improving the whiteness and brilliance of the teeth. This is certainly an option, though it may be a good idea to wait a little while before trying this. Braces can leave the teeth feeling sensitive, which can make whitening treatments uncomfortable. When you’re ready, you’ll choose between DIY or take-home whitening treatments, in office whitening treatments, and more intensive options. Treatments like enamel microabrasion, ICON infiltration, cosmetic bonding, and dental veneers are all options you can investigate in your pursuit of your best smile. Be sure to consult with Dr. Chad Carver and Dr. Tori Matthys to determine which whitening treatment will be best for you and your teeth.
It’s understandable if you were taken by surprise by your teeth not being brilliantly white after your braces were removed. Try not to fret too much though. You’ve gotten the hard part done. From here, whitening your teeth is a matter of patience and letting us help you take that next step towards your most beautiful smile.
Sometimes taking good care of your teeth can get expensive. That’s why we have in-house financing options available – so you and your whole family can afford to have healthy, beautiful smiles.