yellow teeth

The last thing you want is yellow teeth after years of wearing braces. But unfortunately, it’s a very common occurrence. If you don’t take care of your mouth while you’re wearing braces, you might be surprised to see white squares where your braces were on yellow-stained teeth after your dentist removes them. Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid this experience. Here are some reasons why people get yellow teeth after braces and how to prevent this from happening. We’ll also talk about how you can fix stained teeth after braces.

Brush Properly With A Toothbrush Made for Braces

With all the brackets and wires crowding your teeth, it’s easy for plaque to build up in hard-to-reach places. That’s why it’s especially important for you to brush properly when you have braces. When plaque is left to sit on your teeth, your teeth start to decay, causing them to turn yellow.
People with braces should ask their dentist about electric toothbrushes that are specifically designed for mouths with braces. These brushes will have bristles that are made to remove plaque around brackets and get through wires.

Floss Every Day, Getting Those Hard-to-Reach Spots

Having braces can feel like a great excuse to not floss, since it’s harder to reach the spaces between your teeth. But with more bacteria buildup, it’s extremely important to floss with braces. Just like with brushing, flossing every day will help keep your teeth from decaying and turning yellow.
Superfloss is the best type of floss for people with braces. It’s made up of three types of floss: soft spongy floss, a stiffened-end threader, and regular floss. The stiffened-end threader makes it easier to get between your braces, and the large spongy floss helps you clean around your brackets and wires.

Avoid Tooth-Staining Food

Some food and drinks contain colored properties that can stick to your teeth’s enamel and change their beautiful white color to yellow. These include soda and “sports drinks”, hard and gummy candy, red wine, and coffee. It’s best to avoid these teeth-staining foods and drinks as often as possible, or slowly consume them with glass of water. When you do eat or drink them, wash out your mouth and brush afterwards to keep them from staining your teeth.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking is a big culprit of yellowing teeth, along with other horrible diseases and issues. There’s really no good reason to continue smoking. One of the many effects of smoking is yellowing teeth, caused by the nicotine and tar in tobacco. This can occur not just from smoking, but also from chewing tobacco. Tobacco use is one thing you should quit for good - not just when you have braces.

Use Invisalign Instead of Traditional Braces

If you haven’t had braces yet, you should consider using Invisalign instead of traditional braces. Since Invisalign braces are removable, it’s much easier to keep your braces and teeth clean, reducing the chance that your teeth will turn yellow. Brushing and flossing will be exactly the same as when you didn’t have braces!

Receive Teeth Whitening Treatment After Braces

If your teeth begin yellowing while you have braces, you don’t have to say goodbye to your pearly whites for good. Ask your dentist about teeth whitening after braces! At Water Tower Dental Care, we use Zoom! Teeth Whitening to change the color of your teeth dramatically after just one visit. This leading teeth whitening system brightens up your smile up to 8 shades in about an hour. It’s as easy as that.
Don’t settle for a yellow smile. Contact us to learn more about whitening your teeth after braces! There’s no better place to bring back your beautiful smile than at Chicago’s top cosmetic dentistry.

Yellow teeth are an unsightly issue that many of us would love to avoid. Beside the aesthetic reasons for wanting pearly white teeth, there are also health issues that coincide with having whiter teeth.
Your teeth are white thanks to a protective outer layer known as enamel. It protects your teeth from acid and bacteria, but when your teeth are improperly cared for, those acids can break down your enamel and make it translucent. Underneath your enamel is another layer known as dentin. While enamel may be white, dentin is naturally a yellow tone. When your enamel becomes translucent, you are exposing the colors of your dentin to the world.

The older you get, the more your enamel can be naturally worn down. This may be why your teeth are yellowing. However, if you’re still young and are experiencing yellowing of the teeth, it’s most likely caused by foods and liquids that are known to break down your enamel as well as stain your teeth, or by cigarettes. Some foods and drinks contain colored compounds that are able to adhere to your enamel surface and darken the color of your teeth. Here are five of the most common causes of yellow teeth.

Soda and ‘Sports Drinks'

Both the citric acids and the high amounts of sugar in colas, soft drinks, and so-called sports drinks wear down the layer of enamel on your teeth.
Cola is the worst culprit, with its ammonia-based caramel coloring that not only wears down your enamel, but can discolor your teeth as well. Even so, lighter colored soft drinks are just as harmful to your enamel. All of these kinds of liquids are best avoided or limited.

Hard Candy and Gummy Candy

These treats are loaded with acidic sugars that can easily breakdown the enamel on your teeth. What’s worst about these candies is that they stay in your mouth for an extended period of time, which allows the sugars to really do their worst.
Many of these candies can stain your teeth as well. In regards to candy you should avoid, a general rule is that if it can stain your tongue, it can probably stain your teeth.

Red Wine

While a glass of red wine can be a healthier choice than soft drinks, too much wine can break down enamel as well as stain your teeth. Red wine has very deep red colors, which are caused by the compounds polyphenols and tannins. These compounds are very good at staining teeth.

Coffee

We all love our morning coffee, and many of us can’t start a day without it. However, think twice about drinking coffee and leaving the house without brushing your teeth, as this acidic liquid can do a lot of damage to your teeth. The dark color is prime for staining teeth while the acidic attributes can hurt your enamel.

Cigarettes

A big culprit for yellowing teeth is the nicotine in cigarettes. Smoking has no health benefits, yet can very negatively impact the state of your teeth and other body parts. This is one to avoid altogether.
Of course, the best way to keep your teeth as white as possible is to avoiding these foods and drinks as much as possible, as well as cigarettes. When you do consume them, trying having a glass of water along with the food or drink to wash away any of the acids. Also, after consuming any of these foods or drinks, brushing your teeth will help keep the stains from setting as well as remove the acids that are trying to eat away at your enamel.
For more help with your yellowing teeth, contact Water Tower Dental. We can help guide you through best practices or offer our Zoom! Whitening process to bring your teeth back to the pearly white you love.