Foods that stain ceramics

[Frankie]

Hi everyone,

I just got ceramic braces fitted with a teflon coated white wire and I was wondering if anyone could give me a list of foods that they've found to stain them. My dentist has told me turmeric and tomatoes but I've avoided these and mine are getting yellow already! Any tips for keeping them white? I live in India so it's going to be very hard to avoid spicy food for a whole year! Would love people's thoughts and feedback,

Thanks!

[Stephanie]

I had ceramic (clears) on top for 2 years and I found that using Peroxide for mouthwash keeps the ceramics clear and nonyellow for the most part.

I also advise to use mouthwash after every single meal especially large meals.

Good Luck!

[sunshine90]

I've had ceramics for a couple of months. I love coffee, but realized it started to stain my braces, especially frothy coffees. So I try to avoid coffee and dark sodas.

Also, always carry a bottle of water. If you do have a brace staining food and are out, you can easily drink some water and swish it around your mouth to at least keep the beverage or food from sitting on your teeth.

Good luck!

[jennysmile]

Hello!! I have ceramic braces and foods I've learned to stay away from are tomato paste foods, They turn them yellow, I love pizza but I only eat it when I know I only have a few days untill my next doctors visit because I know they will be changed.

[laaloshinnx]

i had that happen to me only an hour ago! i only got braces for the first time 9 days ago, they used to be a light blue and a light pink. they hadn't been stained or faded at all until i had lunch today, a salad roll and i just had to put mustard in it. very bad move.
it stained my braces bad, the blue is now a light green and the pink is now a weird orange. i have to have them like this for another month!
so stay away from mustard and also i've heard soup makes them change colour too.

[plymouth.barbie]

Hey

I've had ceramic braces on top and bottom for over 12 months now. Any food with colouring in can stain the ligs that go around each bracket but they change these each time you go back for an adjustment. I normally find mine start to stain after a few weeks no matter how carefull I am. The brackets themselves will not stain. I'm not sure about the white whire, I have a metal one.

There are a few things as mentioned above that you can do to stop them staining as quickly. I find drinking water with my meal helps and I try to put everything to the back of my mouth and chew which avoids it having contact with the front of my brace. I also drink all drinks through a straw, I can't give up tea and coffee and they do stain so I always carry straws with me. I even use them for clear fizzy drinks as they have citric acid in that can damage the tooth enamel.

I haven't given up any foods, I did to start with but as long as your careful it really is ok

If you are really worried about them staining, you can chose different coloured ligs, I've been told the darker ones don't stain as bad. I've never had coloured ones myself as I like the brace to blend in with my teeth as much as possible.

To be honest even when the do stain, I have a bit of a moan, but when ever I mention it to anyone else they really can't notice what I'm talking about. I think it just looks worse to us because we pay so much attention to our teeth.

I don't over brush my teeth, just twice a day, I use a whitening toothpaste with Bicarbonate of Soda in it and a whitening mouthwash which seems to help.

Goodluck with your treatment, the time soon flies by

[Denise]

Curry is going to be your worst nightmare. It'll stain ligs faster than anything. I eat a lot of tomato-based foods, and I haven't had mine stained yet because I brush after every single meal. I also use mouthwash twice a day, morning and right after dinner every night. A drink that I've found that stains fast is crystal light raspberry and fruit punch. Soda hasn't stained mine, but I only drink it maybe twice a week. Living in India, I'm surprised your ortho even offered you ceramic brackets haha. You're better off with metal, so you don't have to worry about those delicious foods staining them. Good luck!

[Sunny]

Denise ceramic brackets are huge in India ... as they are in most countries, due to the ceramic not staining. It's what goes around brackets ... all kinds (ceramic, metal, gold etc) that stains. Wire ties don't stain ... and these come in white. Some of the dark coloured ligs don't stain and in general the coloured ligs look amazing with ceramic brackets due to the glow that can be seen both around the lig and from behind the four wings.

Some people choose ceramic brackets to keep the look as minimal as possible ... and this is when wire ties are great ... especially for people (like me) who eat many spicy foods.

I used to eat curry four or more times a week ... and that's loaded with tumeric and other staining spices. I had ceramics for a few years and never had a problem with the brackets, but I soon found that purple and black became my favourite ligs and powerchains.

[Anny]

Doritos.

*shudder*