Teeth Whitening After Braces
Many patients expect their braces to come off, exposing a beautiful, white smile. However, the teeth are often not bright and sparkling when brackets and wires come off. This is why many patients opt to have teeth whitening treatments after their orthodontic treatment is over. You can even do it right after your braces come off. We can help you to know what you can expect when your braces come off and how to approach teeth whitening to brighten your smile!
Keeping Teeth Healthy During Braces
If you want whiter teeth when your braces come off, it does matter what you do during your time with braces. Your oral health habits and what you eat will make a big difference in the look of your teeth. With braces, teeth are much harder to clean, so with everything you eat, make sure you know what will happen with your teeth. Sugary foods will stick to your teeth more and might sit on your teeth longer, causing decay. Chips, nuts and hard foods can break brackets and wires and even your teeth. Certain drinks will dye your tooth enamel, and can leave uneven shades if you drink them a lot. Consider the following:
- Avoid hard foods that will break orthodontic appliances. These include: nuts, popcorn, corn on the cob, carrots, hard candy, chips, ice, apples and crusty bread.
- Don’t eat sticky foods, which are really hard to get out of brackets. These include: gum, caramel, Sugar Daddies, Skittles, taffies, Tootsie Rolls, gummies, fruit snacks, Starburst, licorice and similar foods.
- Sodas and carbonated drinks. Carbonic acid in these drinks will erode tooth enamel over time.
- Juices and Citrus: Citric acid erodes tooth enamel as well. Juices are generally high in sugar and can contain acids.
It’s also very important to keep your teeth clean. If you have drinks that are purple, blue, red, and other dark colors, these will all stain your teeth. When you do drink these drinks, make sure to brush afterwards (about 20 minutes after) to take away the dye. Keep your teeth clean all day long by continually brushing and flossing so your teeth can stay as white as possible. The more you do for your teeth when you have braces, the less you have to do afterwards.
When Your Braces Come Off
Many patients picture beautiful, white teeth when their braces come off. Even though your teeth will be beautiful and straight, they likely won’t be white. They will at least be the same color that they were when you got braces on your teeth. Depending on your oral health habits, your teeth might actually be darker if you had foods with dyes, tooth decay problems or didn’t brush and floss often. If your teeth aren’t white, don’t fret! Most patients do teeth whitening after their braces to get their new straight smile sparkling.
Teeth Whitening After Braces
Teeth whitening is one of the easiest dental services you can get. If you get teeth whitening through a dentist, you will have a dental hygienist whiten your teeth with professional-grade solutions. You will have teeth whitening materials placed on your teeth that will be set with ultraviolet light. Your teeth will then cure for 20-60 minutes until they reach the white shade you desire. This process can be done several times in-office on the same day, or spread out over several days if the teeth are sensitive.
Dentists also provide take-home professional-grade solutions that patients can do on their own time that work much quicker than toothpastes, strips or over-the counter treatments. With any teeth whitening you do, always double check the chemicals being used and what the process will be like. With a professional service, your results are usually guaranteed or the process is redone.
Tips to remember when doing teeth whitening:
- Many at-home products won’t whiten your teeth significantly. Many toothpastes only remove plaque or surface stains, but they don’t actually change the color of your teeth.
- When choosing over-the-counter products, look for ones with hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. These will actually change the shade of your teeth whiter.
- Your best and quickest results will come from getting professional teeth whitening from a dentist. Teeth whitening can even be done in just one office visit, which is great for upcoming formal events or whitening your teeth when you have very little time.
Your Oral Health
Whether your goal is to have whiter teeth or to keep your natural teeth for your entire life, how well you take care of them will determine if you meet your oral health goals. If you never brush and floss your teeth, you can’t expect them to stay healthy. If you drink sodas and juices with dyes everyday, you can expect your teeth to stain. Having healthy teeth (and even white teeth) is fairly easy if you follow certain oral health guidelines:
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day, for at least 2 minutes every time, as recommended by the American Dental Association. If you wear braces, you should brush your teeth after every meal.
- Floss every day, 1-2 times. Flossing gets 40% of your tooth surfaces that get missed when people skip.
- Use fluoridated toothpaste. Fluoride strengthens your teeth, and you can get fluoridated teeth whitening toothpastes.
- See your dentist! You need more than just an orthodontist, even though the orthodontist is very important. Seeing a professional who knows both orthodontics and dentistry is even better (like us). Every person should see their dentist for comprehensive exams and dental cleanings at least twice a year.
- See your orthodontist. When wearing braces, make sure you go to every orthodontic appointment. This helps your orthodontist know if dental problems like decay, erosion or staining are happening.
Following these guidelines can help you keep your natural teeth healthy and strong for life, even with your braces on. For more help taking care of your teeth or questions about teeth whitening after braces, call Belmar Orthodontics at (303) 225-9016!
The Importance of a Beautiful Smile
At Belmar Orthodontics, our success is depends on your success. Part of achieving that success is having a beautiful smile. Studies show that a straighter, more beautiful smile can help you to become more successful and be perceived as such by others. A more beautiful smile can help your self-esteem, your social standing, and can open opportunities to you that you otherwise would not have had. However, a great smile is something that takes dedication and special care throughout your life. We can help you know how to care for your smile to keep it dazzling. We can also provide you state-of-the-art treatment and services that can provide you a beautiful smile as well as patient education for keeping that smile healthy for life. Learn more about how a more beautiful smile can benefit you and how you can achieve it!
Healthy Smiles Take Work
To have a beautiful smile, you have to take special care of your teeth. You do this through proper oral health hygiene practices, which includes brushing and flossing your teeth every single day. The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing at least once a day. Notice how we said “at least”. This means that you can brush and floss your teeth even more than those recommended amount of times each day. In fact, brushing and flossing after every meal can significantly reduce your risk for tooth decay and gum disease. We also said you must practice this routine “every day”. This is the part that takes work.
To keep your body healthy, you must have solid, healthy habits that take up a part of your every day. To keep a healthy body you must take time to eat right and to exercise. In order to have healthy eyes, you need to visit your eye doctor. To keep your teeth healthy, you have to take time to clean them as well as visit your dentist. How often? We recommend going to the dentist at least twice a year, if not more. For your orthodontic work, you will come into the office every 4-6 weeks. These appointments are very important to determine if your bite and alignment is healthy and in correct position. It is also very important to ensure you don’t have tooth decay forming, as braces are more prone to causing cavities because the teeth are harder to clean with brackets. A healthy smile takes work, but it is well worth the benefits your reap.
The Importance of a Beautiful Smile
Not only are healthy smiles great for you, but they are also more beautiful not only for you, but for others. A beautiful smile can impact the level of self-esteem you have as well as confidence. In fact, studies show that those who have a straighter, more beautiful smile tend to be more confident. They also are perceived as more confident and successful by their peers. For example, Invisalign conducted a study about the importance of straightening teeth and what it did for those who did it.
For adults, a straighter smile made them appear more successful to others. In many cases, it also helped them be more confident so that they actually were more successful. Between studying people with straight smiles versus those with crooked smiles, the ones with straight smiles were perceived as smarter and in 75% of cases, more trustworthy. People also perceived them as having more dates and as more attractive. Those with a straighter, more beautiful smile were also more likely to get a job (almost twice as likely as someone with a crooked smile). Studies conclude that a more beautiful smile works wonders for you in every aspect of your life!
How About Children?
Having straighter teeth and a beautiful smile is not only important for adults, but it makes an impact on a child’s life as well. In studies, children that had better smiles had a boost of confidence that helped them be more confident in their studies and with others. Teenagers also have this boost of confidence. In modern times, child orthodontics is becoming much more popular. Child orthodontics seeks to correct orthodontic issues present in childhood that would become much more severe later on in life.
We recommend that children see the orthodontist between ages 7 and 8. This is a time when bite and alignment issues manifest and when they can most easily be corrected. A child’s jaw is still forming and many of the baby teeth are falling out to make room for the adult teeth. With child orthodontics, we can correct bite and alignment so it is even. We can also monitor how the permanent teeth are coming into the mouth. This time period is one where many pre-teens have their teeth grow in. We need to make sure those teeth come in straight so that those teens can enjoy a beautiful smile that is straight, and that it is one they can carry with them throughout adulthood.
Get a Better Smile Today
Orthodontics can work wonders for the confidence, self-esteem and oral health of children, teens and adults alike. Some patients will only need treatment for a short time while others will need straightening treatment for 18-24 months. This investment is well worth your time for what a beautiful smile does for you personally and socially. If you would like to learn more about your orthodontic options and schedule your consultation today, call Belmar Orthodontics at (303) 225-9016!
Why Adult Braces Are So Important
How important are adult braces? Not only do braces enhance your appearance, but they help prevent tooth decay and oral health problems. The American Dental Association tells us that braces are used to correct bite problems and malocclusion. Correcting these problems helps prevent oral health issues such as tooth decay, gum disease, jaw problems and even tooth loss. Proper orthodontic care goes beyond simply improving your oral health. Braces will give you added confidence that will boost performance in all facets of your life. Let us show you just how important braces are and why you should invest in them whether you are an adult or a child!
Braces for Children and Teens
About 75 percent of orthodontic patients are children and teens. Of that number, the majority opt to have traditional metal braces. Traditional metal braces are the most economic choice for orthodontic care if you are looking to improve your smile without breaking the bank. Children can receive braces as early as 7 or 8 years old depending on their needs. The adolescent years are the most common period for receiving braces when the head and mouth are still growing (especially the jaw). When children as young as 7 or 8 receive orthodontic treatment, it is usually to correct problems with alignment or bite that can become severe in later years. This early intervention ensures that teeth come in correctly in a child’s mouth and that the bite is aligned correctly. This will help correct problems with speech, biting, chewing, talking and even physical appearance.
Why Orthodontic Care Is Important
Orthodontic care during the adolescent years is generally used to correct alignment by straightening the teeth. Both bite correction and proper alignment is vitally important to oral health. When the teeth are crooked, problems such as tooth decay and gum disease can easily set in. This is because food becomes trapped in the teeth when you eat and is much harder to remove when the teeth are crooked. Gums can become irritated when plaque sits on the teeth for too long. Over time, plaque-infested gums can become red, swollen and can bleed easily–especially when flossing. Gums can even begin to recede to the point where the teeth fall out. Recession occurs more frequently with teeth that are crooked and harder to clean. Teeth that have been straightened through orthodontic care avoid some of these challenges.
When bite is misaligned, the teeth can come in crooked in a child. Patients may have overbite, underbite, crossbite, openbite or malocclusion. All of these types of misaligned bites will interfere with eating and speaking as well as the physical appearance of the mouth and face. This is because many of the teeth overlap one another abnormally or one jaw protrudes more than the other. Orthodontic care through braces for children and adult braces can correct these problems. Orthodontic treatment through adolescent and adult braces can help ensure that there is enough space for all the teeth to sit comfortably in the mouth.
Other Reasons to Invest in Braces
Are braces something you should invest in? The answer is yes! Whether you seek adult braces or braces for children and teens, you are making a decision that has far-reaching effects. The majority of people will experience crooked teeth at some point. What you decide to do about it is up to you.
Braces—even adult braces—are actually quite desirable today according to reports by the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and more. The amount of adults wearing braces rose 24% between 1989 and 2008 alone and that number has continued to rise. Why? Braces have become more affordable and more attractive. Insurance even covers part of the cost for many patients. Braces are also more comfortable than they were in the past and there are more options for patients seeking orthodontic treatment. The social benefits of braces alone draw people in as well.
Studies About Adult Braces
There have been many studies done about the importance of braces. Invisalign conducted one such study several years ago that recorded more than 1000 responses by pedestrians on the street. These pedestrians were asked to choose from two pictures of people placed side-by-side. Who would they trust more? Who seemed more confident? Respondents did not not beforehand that the comparison was between people with straight smiles and people with crooked smiles. From that study, it was found that those with straighter smiles were perceived as more confident, more successful, more attractive and up to 70% more trustworthy. All from a better, straighter smile!
Proper orthodontic care can also get you ahead when it comes to job interviews and new opportunities. Because a straighter, more beautiful smile has been shown to exude all of the characteristics above, those traits are also perceived in job interviews and during first impressions. Adult braces can help you land that job you’ve wanted and can help you get ahead professionally.
Your Options at Belmar Orthodontics
Traditional metal braces are just that: traditional. This is the most common option chosen by patients when selecting what type of orthodontic care they want. This choice is often popular with children and many teens and has proven through the years to provide exceptional straightening power. Adults and teenagers alike will sometimes avoid needed orthodontic treatment because they find traditional metal braces to be distracting or unattractive. Because of this, we provide you other options when it comes to straightening those pearly whites. These include:
- Incognito Lingual Braces: Metal braces attached to the inside of the teeth that stay hidden.
- Invisalign Transparent Aligners: Transparent aligners that are changed every few weeks to shape your teeth into proper alignment.
- Ceramic Clear Braces: The look of traditional metal brackets made in ceramic form. Both the brackets and wires can be made white to match your natural teeth.
At Belmar Orthodontics, we do all that we can to ensure your mouth stays healthy and your smile bright. Our success is dependent on your success. This is why we offer you so many options when it comes to straightening children’s teeth or investing in adult braces. To learn more about child and adult braces, call our office today at (303) 225-9016!
