I'm 22 and I just got my top braces off after having them on for 15 months...I'm graduating on May 11th...what's something good and safe to whiten my teeth??...Thanks for you help!!
209195
Don't worry about stupid ppl with their stupid answers (The first answer on here)!!  The best thing to gently whiten your teeth would be topol( a whitening toothpaste).  It works great for smokers, coffee drinkers, etc. and it is very gentle, i use it every day and my teeth are so much more whiter! Congratulations on your Graduation!!!!!
547401
You're never too old for pretty teeth! :D\n\nMy mum had braces when she was 39.\n\nIf people judge you for your braces, then they are not genuine friends.
100150
This happened to me a few times before I realized something. Don't brush your teeth anywhere near the time when you want to use the white strips--I'm talking many hours. If I brushed my teeth in the morming and used whitestrips in the late afternoon, I was fine. Otherwise it burned!
415339
teeth are LESS white due to coffee, tea, smoking, red wine, and just food.   So AFTER bleaching, if you do any of these, your teeth will darken up a bit.   \n\nI give my patients the bleaching tray; I've been using the same pack of bleach syringes myself since 2002 (as I only touch mine up ever 3-6 months or so).  That way you can just keep doing it.\n\nIf you need work, be advised...esp if front teeth need white fillings.   If poss, do the bleaching FIRST then the dentist can do the work to MATCH where the bleaching got to.  if you do the white fillings first, and then bleach, your fillings will not lighten!!  you could get the dr to do the fillings really light and then HOPE to bleach the rest of the teeth to that level, but that's a bit shady.\n\n-In office is really expensive cuz you're taking up chair time.  I don't do this, and don't recommend it unless you're like "Oh, i'm getting married next week; what do do?"\n-Trays, I think are the best, as  mentioned above.\n-crest strips are OK; you may notice a difference but not always super dramatic.  they are better for maintaining whitening after you had it done.
296724
I have had braces on for about 6 months now. 1st you get "spacers" put on your very back teeth, and you wear them for 1 week then you get your braces put on. Spacers are little blue rubber bands that make room in between your teeth so the braces can go on. I thought that this part was worse than getting the actual braces put on. It feels like you have huge Pisces of meat stuck in between your teeth. It is really sore when you bite down, with them on, so plan to eat soft foods for a week or so. Then when it comes time for your braces you feel like your lips are being pushed out and that they look huge, but that feeling goes away within a week or less. And once a month you go to your orthodontist to get your braces adjusted or have new wires put on. Your teeth are sore for a little less than a week after that happens. I personally can't wait until my braces are taken off! Good Luck!
120310
Dont Worry everything will be fine, I have braces now and I had them before too, when I was 9. I also had a pallette expander before i had braces. What mine did it could come out and everything, but it stuck to the top of you mouth and what it does and expands the roof of your mouth so you can bite correctly. I had to take mine out when I ate.  Foods with braces that your not supposed to have are: Popcorn (Hull-less is okay), Nuts and peanut brittle, ice, Hard candy & Candied apples (What i did with hard candy i just sucked on it forever), all hard chips and cookies, Raw fruits and vegetables (hard), Gum (even sugarless)(I still chew gum, don't tell anybody!!!), Fruit roll-ups amd gummy bears, Taffy and caramels (still eat those too shhh!!), Starbursts, mike & ikes, and dots, Bit-O-Honeys, Skittles and airheads, milk duds amd sugar daddies. You don't have to follow this completely, I know i don't, but be VERY careful!!! \nTreats you can have:\nPotato Chips and corn puffs, M & M's & Reese's Pieces, KitKats & Junior mints, Nestle Crunch & Peppermint Patties, Mounds & Reese's peanut butter cups, Hershey Kisses, 3 musketeers, Ice cream, sherbert, and frozen yogurt.\nOrthodontic 'No-no's':\nLip Biting, Pushing your tongue against your appliance or braces, chewing on fingers, pencils, or pens, tearing thing with your teeth, and biting your fingernails.\nHow Braces Are Put ON:\nFirst of all they clean your teeth then the put cement on the bracets and put the bracets on each tooth. Then, the put the wire through and you've got braces.\nFlossing with braces:\nThe orthodontist will give you a threader to do this:\nYou have to take the floss thread it through the wire and between the brackets and then floss...it takes forever! but don't worry the doc will show you how.\nDo Braces Hurt:\nYes, they do. But it only lasts for the first couple of days so don't worry. I have them now (I'm 14) and I already had the before when i was 9. after the first couple of days you get used to them and you cant even feel them anymore. But the downfall, when you go to your checkup, and they tighten them....you'll go through the same thing..they will hurt again for the first couple of days..so don't worry I know alot of young kids that go through this.\nGood Luck! I hope I could help You!
458854
YUP, I had been using it for the past week, and I just put them away last night. I didn't want to talk to my dentist for the exact same reason you've stated. I'll tell you a bit about my experience. \n\nThe first few days/nights you use them are killer. I would wake up in the middle of the night and just rip them off, 'cause it hurt so much (considering that your teeth are moving, it makes sense, but jeeze.) Also, not only do your gums get sore, but your teeth, right up to the root get really sensitive - just tapping it gently would hurt. That was a real danger sign to me. \nAfter about 3 days, I didn't notice anymore pain, and I had noticed my teeth gaps closing. (My tiny ones at the bottom had closed completly). I was happy about that, however when I would brush my teeth, they'd open again. What's up with that? I wore them all day, and whenever I'd take them off, they would up open in less than an hour. Also, as they pull 2 teeth together, they create new gaps on the other sides of your teeth. Forget the answers to the FAQ on the website, it isn't true. At least not for me. \n\nThe results are *very* temporary. Very makeshift. And I think the reviews on their *very* cheap looking website are either fake or extremely biased. The only way I could imagine this working is if you plan to continue buying and wearing them for the rest of your life, or at least a very long time. I had read a customer review on another website, and someone mentioned that they had been using them for 6 months, and whnever they stopped the treatment,  the gap re-opened.\n\nThe reasons I've decided to forget about them are basically due to fears about root and gum damage. Also, the chances that the results would be permanent are quite low. Why would people get braces if there's a product like this out there, and why isn't this product more publisized? I was also a bit scared that I would close the gap, then when I stopped treatment, the gap would open larger than what it was to begin with.\n\nI wouldn't suggest them. Just love yourself the way you are, and as inexpensive as they may be - sweetness, save your money, if you haven't bought them already. Buy some chocolate, or some dental floss or something. lol ;)\nConsider dental surgey otherwise.
505869
Crest Whitestrips worked incredibly well for me. I was given whitener by an orthodontist that didn't work for me at all (it was the gel that you put in the trays), but after using Crest Whitestrips I was entirely satisfied. Even better, I didn't have to whiten them again for sixth months, just as the box advertised. I would definitely recommend these.\n\nIf your teeth are overly sensitive, however, you might encounter a problem, but that's the case with many teeth whitening solutions. Just keep that in mind!
278695
As long as you took good care of your teeth while the braces were on you should be fine.  I think the problems like that come along when people don't take care of their teeth and get cavities around or under the braces and other problems like that.  You might notice pale spots when the braces are removed, especially if you drink a lot of soda or coffee/tea because the tooth under the brace itself wasn't exposed to all that while the braces were on, but they'll either fade in after a while or I'm sure your teeth can be bleached to even out the color.  \n\nDon't worry, the biggest pain in the butt with having them removed is sitting there while they scrape the cement off.  You'll love how it feels afterwards.
577817
Hey I got mine off about 5 months ago.  I just brushed three times a day.  This classmate had hers off about 1 1/2year ago and she had yellow teeth and a white squarish spots in the middle of each tooth.  I didn't want that for myself, It looked bad and nasty.  Like she didn't brush her teeth,  but it helped my teeth were good when i got them off.
248538
Crest white strips work just as good as professional whitening.  Some people will never have white teeth.  People that have thin enamel, smoke, and even drink soft drinks, coffee, or tea will probably not have extremely white teeth.  Those substances stain teeth fast.  You have to use white strips twice a day for 1 or 2 weeks depending on the strength you buy.  They will get the same effect you just have to wait longer.  I tried it in the Dental program before they were put on the market and they are great!  You will not really be able to see a lot of results but others will notice it a nd you will get a lot of comments.  if you insist on smoking and drinking dark drinks you might consider using a whitening toothpaste so that you dont loose anything that you have gained by the strips.  You can also gargle in peroxide.  The only other thing that I can think of is that your teeth might get sensitive--that is normal and that will go away after you stop using them.  You can use two boxes back to back but if your teeth are not white after that they will never be extremely white and that is just in the make up of your teeth
458667
Listerine Whitening Rinse is great.  You will see an immediate difference.  I can't recommend this stuff enough.  Also it is not as expensive as Crest Whitening Strips.
529079
The manufacture has to put a date on the product that indicates when the product has expired.  Most of these dates are far ahead of when the drug become inactive.  The most likely thing that will happen with whitening strips is that they just won't whiten your teeth.\n\nLook at the ingredients and see if they contain some sort of poison - which I would doubt.  Try them and see what happens.  Or just use any one of the many whitening tooth pastes.  I use Crest and it works well for me. I use it every two days.
77317
There are things to consider here:\n1) Your age. 23 is a perfect age for using braces, but this depends if you would feel uncomfortable with them or for how long are you willing to use them (some treatments can take more time than others). Veneers, by the other hand, fix your problem almost immediately without no one noticing any changes in the process, but i would say you are too young to use veneers.\n2) Money factor. With braces you paid for them once and you know that after you complete the treatment your teeth will look just fine (if you wear your retainer at night, of course). With veneers you never know, you have to change them sometimes, re cement them and is a life time - money commitment... considering that you have a lot of life ahead of you is a big responsibility.\n3)If natural is important for you. With veneers you lose a part of your teeth structure so you'll never be able to show your teeth without them. With braces you take them off and that's it. \nKnowing all this you can make your mind between this two options. If i were you i'll go for the braces no doubt about it.\nGood luck!\nP.S. Excuse my english, is not my native language
273909
you can go to the dentist, they have a special technique for whitening theeths. although, this will damage the immunisation of them in the future. the effect is great on spot, but on long term it is not recommended.
262901
Yes you need braces especially if yout teeth have gaps between them. It don't matter if you haven't got your wisdom teeth yet but you need them to make your teeth sraight and the ones that go up and down go straight. And especially that you are at a young age. It'll be better to get them right now so you will have sraight teeth when you are in High School. And an over bite is when your top teeth go don't touch the bottem teeth. And an under bite is when the bottom teeth don't touch the top teeth. And when you get braces your teeth will hurt a little because those are the effects of your teeth getting sraight and moving around so you will have a nice smile when you get them off. To clean your teeth brush and floss daily the same way you do when you don't have braces on. I had braces and I got them taken off in February. I would recommend that you get them to also remember guys like girls that have a nice smile or braces because your teeth will be straight. And when you have braces you have to go to the Orthodontics every month to tighten your rubber band and pick different colors for your braces it's very cool getting differnt colors to match what you are gonna wear. Well good luck finding answers bye. If you have any other questions e-mail me about it.
578564
i had the same thing my teeth were not that bad but i got them any ways. i didnt think that i need them but now that they are off my teeth look so straight!!! before they put your braces on the take picts and they get your teeth really clean. when they put them on they dont hurt but the next day they are pretty sore. good luck