Marks left on teeth after braces??

[lsyorke]

However, I'm not going to have her get them unless her teeth are really, really out of whack. The sad thing about the dentist (and healthcare in general) is that if they can, they will. Just because an orthodontist says a kid NEEDS braces doesn't necessarily make it true.

I was told DS would need braces at age 6...uh, I don't think so. Yes, as his baby teeth fell out and adult teeth came it they were a mess. Then slowly they all came into place and his teeth are perfect...he's now 26.

Now, I'm older, but I had braces way back when and they wouldn't even consider braces until a child was over the age of 12 and all, or most, adult teeth were in.

Damage under a glued on are of the brace has nothing to do with hygiene, it has to do with the brace/adhesive.

 

[mnrose]

My twins both had braces...DS for about a year, and DD for about 2 years. To say they had less than perfect hygiene while using them would be an understatement. However, neither of them has any staining or discoloration of the teeth. They both have very nice looking teeth now.

My own, completely non-professional, opinion is that this *might* be an issue for people with softer enamel. Mine both came through fine.

I also had braces...back in the dark ages when teeth were fully wrapped in metal bands... (and they were on for YEARS....long story, but my orthodontist went to prison for insurance fraud, and there wasn't another one anywhere in the area at the time)....and I have no discoloration either.

Personally, I'm guessing the dentist is doing a CYA. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Buckalew11]

My sister had braces in the 70's also. She had them for YEARS also. All I know is when they came off, she had 1 tiny pin hole in each front tooth and one tooth started turning gray. She had to have both teeth crowned. Not sure what happened but I remember the new dentist telling mom that they could sue. Of course, my parents didn't. All 3 of us girls have at least one front tooth crowned for one reason or another.

 

[spacecoast95]

I remember my father saying to my mother something about suing,
but they never did.

I didn't realize the same thing happened to so many people
until I decided to look up on the internet to see if there were other people.

Damage under a glued on are of the brace has nothing to do with hygiene, it has to do with the brace/adhesive.

I agree with that 110%, not hygiene at all!
There is still a stripe that is across my teeth
where the cemented bands of braces were.

 

[sonnyjane]

Yes I have the decalcification marks on my teeth where the brackets were glued. My current dentist claims that it wasn't from poor brushing, but because the braces were left on to long. He said they should only be on for two years, mine were on for three

Yup this too for me. I had braces on for 7 years (craziness!) so I'm not surprised that I do have permanent discoloration. it's not on all of my teeth, just a couple of them, but unfortunately it's the ones in front. You really can't tell unless you're up VERY close to my mouth. I have discussed getting my teeth professionally bleached and my dentist seems to think that would help but I just don't care enough right now to have it fixed, since I've been this way for about 15 years and it doesn't really impact my daily life.

 

[wishesuponastar]

When my daughter had her braces taken off we noticed her teeth looked yellow but were told that was not from the braces. dD took very good care of her teeth so I know it wasn't poor hygiene. She asked to get Crest whitestrips and with one box of that her teeth whitened up remarkably.

 

[spacecoast95]

My braces were on for 2 years, I don't think its the length of time, I think the cement or adhesive, whatever it is they use to cement the bands to the teeth and the actual metal itself damages the enamel to where its permanently discolored.

Ive done bleaching 3 times, it does not work for this.
Bleaching makes the teeth so sensitive, my teeth ache from it.
I have to use Sensodyne toothpaste everyday for relief.

 

[Cynth]

I had braces as a kid in the 90's and still have marks on 2 teeth.
I had them repeatedly professionally cleaned and even bleached one time, it is still visible.
I was not at all happy with the result, so last year I had Invisalign to correct the position of my teeth and to hopefully help with neck pain and headache.

I really helped with the pains and I now like the look of my teeth but wish I had never had braces as a kid. Not only because of the stains but also because Invisalign wasn't painfull at all.
I prefer to have some plastic in my mouth that I can take out and give a good cleaning to having metal attached to my teeth.

I hope it all turns out fine for you

 

[luvsJack]

DD got her braces off this past August and her teeth are beautiful.

At every appointment, when they took the wires off, they would have her go and brush her teeth really well as it was easier then to get around the brackets. She did have her teeth cleaned every 6 months at the dentist and the hygienist there was the one that would let her know if there were any areas she needed to pay special attention to and the one that let her know at the end that there were no spots.

We were warned from the beginning that spots could happen if she didn't take care of her teeth.

The dentist and his hygienist were a lot more help in guiding her in how to take care of her teeth than the ortho was.

 

[aprilgail2]

I've had a similar issue with braces. I used perfect hygiene and there were no problems with my teeth. Then when I got them off, they must have scraped the glue off too hard and damaged my enamel on two of my teeth. They're rough and peeling a bit now and look scratched. The orthodontist won't do anything about it. Just...ugh.

Just a little story. Good luck OP.

My friend had the same thing- it happened a lot with braces "back in the old days" (70's)- she ended up having to get veneers on her teeth.

When my daughter had braces (she had them from 4th grade-8th grade) I bought her a water flosser and a Sonic care tooth brush- she was very good about using them both and her teeth were perfect when the braces came off!

 

[disneydentist]

My DD had NO cavities her whole life. Gorgeous teeth. She got braces because of one tooth coming in way high. The ortho said something like, "She needs to brush a little better," a few times and that was it. No alarms. Then our pediatric dentist got a look at her teeth and had a fit. She had decalcification....that was the discoloration. She demanded the braces come off that day in order to save the teeth from further decay.

I couldn't see it because it was behind the brackets mostly. But the orthoshad seen it and kept quiet. My DD's teeth are ruined. She has had cavity after cavity. Not normal cavities. Just chunks of tooth falling out. I could kill the ortho. If I could go back, I'd pull the one badly placed tooth and skip the braces. My dentist used some kind of paste that remineralizes the teeth to save as much as of them as possible before she started restoring them.

We owe our dentist big time. My DD's perfect teeth are far from perfect now and the ortho and all her staff should rot as far as I'm concerned. They never let me know there was a problem. Go to a decent dentist and get it checked out.

Boy do you mix and match terms. Decalcification and decay are not synonyms.

Plus, while you vilify the ortho, what was the pedo doing the whole time? There should have been checks on both sides. Sounds like the pedo wasn't up to speed either.

 

[EMom]

Boy do you mix and match terms. Decalcification and decay are not synonyms.

Plus, while you vilify the ortho, what was the pedo doing the whole time? There should have been checks on both sides. Sounds like the pedo wasn't up to speed either.

You know, it was late and I may have mixed up terms. The whole thing angers me to this day, because the orthos's staff was negligent. They could see her teeth were turning to crap and I could not. They did not alert me. They should have. The pediatric dentist did a fantastic job of turning the situation around, but she shouldn't have had to. The MI paste helped a lot, but it could not do it all.

The fact remains that my DD had teeth in perfect condition (decay wise) before braces and in deplorable condition after, and the ortho never alerted me to a problem, other than to say "she might need to brush a little better" with NO further words spoken. Five seconds at best, and then they walked off.

She gets pediatric dentist checks every six months. Her braces were only on for maybe 18-ish months. I really can't remember. Between one appointment and the next six months later, a LOT of damage occurred. She saw the ortho about 4 times in that 6 month period and not one word of warning.

I warn everyone I come across to avoid that ortho. I'd rather DD have teeth that are not quite perfectly straight, but that are free of decay. We should have been able to get both.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

you do realize that decalcification happens because plaque is left on the teeth............so yes it is a brushing issue and most orthodontists are very straight forward about this. I now have my 3rd child in braces and all 3 have had a different orthodontist and all have been up front about that and it was in the info provided to us. At one point my son was going to have his braces removed for poor hygiene but we went for an extra dental cleaning at his regular dentist as well as me always being on his case about brushing seemed to turn it around and thankfully we did not have to have them removed early.

I am taking my youngest who is now in braces every 6 months to the regular dentist to get a cleaning and check up just to be extra vigilant even tho the orthodontist has had no complaints about her hygiene with braces on.

 

[EMom]

you do realize that decalcification happens because plaque is left on the teeth............so yes it is a brushing issue and most orthodontists are very straight forward about this. I now have my 3rd child in braces and all 3 have had a different orthodontist and all have been up front about that and it was in the info provided to us. At one point my son was going to have his braces removed for poor hygiene but we went for an extra dental cleaning at his regular dentist as well as me always being on his case about brushing seemed to turn it around and thankfully we did not have to have them removed early.

I am taking my youngest who is now in braces every 6 months to the regular dentist to get a cleaning and check up just to be extra vigilant even tho the orthodontist has had no complaints about her hygiene with braces on.

Early on in treatment, we got a casual, "She might need to brush a little better." She did and the next visit, they said all was fine and it was under control when I asked.

FF a year or so and they said, "She might need to brush a little better." She did. But all was not fine. Unfortunately, we were between dentist visits since she is the one who seemed willing to sound the alarm. We could have averted disaster had the ortho once said anything such as:

We are beginning to see a problem.
There is an issue which could lead to a problem.
Let me show you what we are seeing.
We need to get a handle on this before it gets worse.

Or any NUMBER of things which would have let me know there was a problem brewing. The ortho saw her every month or two, while the dentist saw her only every six months. They never acted as if it was much of an issue. I was used to trusting my dentist and had figured I could trust the ortho. Big mistake on my part.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

After my daughter had her braces taken off, she did ZOOM teeth whitening at the dentist's office. It made a world of difference!

 

[sksjasams]

Ask your dentist about MI Paste. You rub it on your teeth right before bed, and it is supposed to help with any decalcification spots, as well as strengthening the teeth. My DS has been using it for a few years.

We were definitely warned of the consequences of poor oral hygiene. I bought DS a water pic, an Oral B Vitality brush, and special flossers for braces. He never skipped brushing, but still they would sometimes say he needed to do a better job.

I ended up paying for extra cleanings out pocket to fill in between the 6 month cleanings - so he would get a professional cleaning every 3 months.

He ended up only having a few spots in the back, and the dentist said the MI Paste would take care of those.

ETA: Our dentist said no whitening pastes or procedures until kids are 18!

 

[disneydentist]

She gets pediatric dentist checks every six months. Her braces were only on for maybe 18-ish months. I really can't remember. Between one appointment and the next six months later, a LOT of damage occurred. She saw the ortho about 4 times in that 6 month period and not one word of warning.

That spells negligence to me all right. On your part and your daughter's. That much damage in 6m spells a lack of home care.

 

[luvsJack]

To be fair, it is hard for the untrained eye to see if they are brushing around those braces as well as they should.

I didn't buy dd any of the things mentioned on here and her teeth turned out beautifully. I didn't stand over her while she brushed, I didn't "do" anything except make sure she didn't use whitening tooth paste and had what she needed in toothbrushes, those tiny brushes to get around the braces and toothpaste. And she went to her normal every 6 month (well honestly, sometimes it was 8 or 9 months) cleanings. Does her teeth being beautifully white make me a better parent somehow? Of course not.

 

[gyadentalcenter]

Yes I have the decalcification marks on my teeth where the brackets were glued. My current dentist claims that it wasn't from poor brushing, but because the braces were left on to long. He said they should only be on for two years, mine were on for three

Dental veneers treatment can be for one tooth, or up to twenty teeth depend on each case! But marks on teeth depends upon the quality of veneers. We are pleased that we didn't get any complaints like this from our clients.

 

[Minnie1222]

Hopefully things will turn out well for your son. You will always hear more "horror" stories than good ones. Many of our extended family members had braces going up and no one had an issue with permanent staining. None of our friends or their children have an issue. Both of my children had braces and came out fine. I had braces for five years and also came out fine.

I also like the fact that they start braces much earlier now. My son started wearing some appliances when he was 8, real braces when he was 11, and was done when he turned 13. Back in our time, we didn't start until age 12-14 and ended up looking ugly through out high school. Some of us still had braces well into the first few years in college.