Natural tooth colour is influenced by genetics, enamel thickness and the colour of the dentine beneath our enamel. Tooth enamel’s naturally translucent, so it’s a bit see-through. This means the combination of tooth enamel and dentine make up your natural tooth colour.

Dentine can be off-white, light yellow or even grey. But, even when we understand this, scrolling through a filtered reality on social media where all teeth seem to be the colour of milk, means it’s easy to feel deflated.

One: Keep enamel strong and resistant to staining

Healthy enamel? It’s tooth armour. That stain-resistant jacket means stains can’t penetrate as deeply. A subscription to clinical grade orthodontic products in VITIS Orthodontic Fixed Brace Daily Care Kit means your tooth enamel and oral health are a priority. VITIS Orthodontic Toothpaste shores up your tooth enamel with fluoride meaning stains are more likely to be banished. VITIS Orthodontic Mouthwash helps you dodge stains and keep your enamel’s integrity between your three brushing sessions.

You can help by switching up the foods you eat to keep your teeth their natural white. Bite into How to Beat Staining Food and Drink at Their Own Game for the full low down on knowing the foods to avoid when supporting teeth whiteness.

Two: Get a mouthguard to protect your teeth and brace during sport

Accidents can happen, in or out of orthodontic treatment. During sports, our teeth can get knocked and this can discolour the dentine – it can go dark as the living issue in the tooth can die.

While your dentist can help with this longer term, it’s not a treatment that is usually undertaken while you’re in braces. If possible, wear a mouthguard during sport.

Three: Know your mouthwash

Teeth can stain from some mouthwashes. Choosing VITIS Orthodontic Mouthwash means your teeth are protected from stains as it works to guard your tooth enamel. It’s alcohol free so it looks after your mouth better than formulations that contain alcohol. You won’t have to brace yourself for the sting before you rinse and you’re less likely to suffer from a dry mouth, helping protect your enamel further. Lovely.  

Don’t be tempted to borrow a mouthwash that contains chlorhexidine. Just in case you’re on a sleepover with the grandparents, to stop grandad’s mouthwash looking great in an emergency, pack your Fixed Brace Travel Kit so you’ve got the clinical grade ingredients specifically designed for your brace and maintaining your natural whiteness. Its mini mouthwash is yours alone – no borrows, grandma!

Four: Respect the rules and understand the risks of abrasion

There are some myths that harm our teeth. The idea that brushing harder makes teeth whiter can damage your teeth. Brushing aggressively can wear down your enamel, making teeth look more yellow as the dentine underneath shows through. Gentle brushing is better.

Our Orthodontic Access Toothbrush respects your tooth enamel. It has soft filaments, each one rounded at the tip so that they’re gentle on enamel but effective at plaque removal. Its V shaped design means that your arch wire isn’t your arch enemy when it comes to brushing. Its innovative shape straddles your arch wire so that your enamel gets the brushing help it needs to stay clean and as naturally white as can be. Phew!

Five: ‘I’ll be fine with just a few brushings with baking soda’ – er, no you won’t!

Not having the same shade of white as someone from an American sit com is nothing to be worried about as long as you’re exercising a plaque free zone for your brace. But it’s tempting, particularly when we watch advertisements, to think that we can go from Ghost White to Star Bright with one quick brush with the contents of the baking cupboard. Resist!

There’s a popular belief that baking soda is safe to use on teeth to whiten them. Baking soda only removes stains from teeth because it’s mildly abrasive – meaning it’s rough enough to scrub some stains away, yes, but it’s also rough enough to wear away at tooth enamel. Abrasive toothpastes can lead to abrasion cavities – ridges, usually along the gum line where enamel has worn away from the coarse nature of baking soda. Once that enamel has gone, it’s gone. #sadface

Once you have abrasion cavities, you’re more likely to suffer from sensitive teeth. Feeling sharp pain when teeth meet hot, cold, sweet or acidic foods is a sign your tooth enamel may be thinning. You’ll know if you have it because you’ll feel your teeth yelp and whine!

Developing sensitivity along the gumline is something that your dentist can help with. But, steering clear of this scenario is better than the cure. #breakupwithbakingsoda

Six: Relieve the pressure

Brushing your teeth’s not the time to think of how miffed you feel about that kid who threw water at you on the bus. You’ll scrub too hard out of frustration. Remember, any thinning of your tooth enamel will show more of the dentine beneath, and that is always less white than your enamel. Gentle brushing is effective at plaque removal. Alongside an Access Toothbrush, your Monotip Brush is an extra tool for plaque removal at your gum line. It’s designed to do its job without you having to put pressure on it. Let it gently protect your teeth from abrasion cavities while giving plaque the brush off.

Seven: Let your tongue tell you: do your teeth feel smooth and clean?

Teeth should feel smooth when you run your tongue across them. Your tongue is sensitive and can sense sticky plaque and gritty tartar build-up. Clever tongue, huh? 

But I’m wearing a brace, nothing feels smooth! We hear you!

We get it's harder when you’re wearing appliances! Your brace covers the front surfaces of your teeth – that's never going to feel smooth! But the back sides of your teeth can give your tongue great feedback.

Sometimes, it’s hard to step up to the never-ending plaque battle in braces. If your tongue detects stickiness or grittiness, try using a TePe Plaqsearch Tablet to colour any plaque that’s taken up home in your mouth. You’ll learn where you need to pay a little more attention and master the intricacies of your brace because these tablets turn that plaque blue. Plaque from the last few hours will turn red.

Who doesn’t love to chase down coloured plaque and return teeth to your personal brightness settings?! There ought to be a cash prize (alas, there isn’t – just the satisfaction of having clean, bright, protected teeth – and that’s priceless!).

Eight: Get your dentist to check out dark spots

Healthy teeth don’t have brown pitted areas, holes, or black discolorations. Anything from that list could indicate decay.

Luckily, with so many appointments with your orthodontist, if things do start to go wrong for the natural colour of your teeth, their expert eye can pick it up quickly. They’ll probably refer you to your regular dentist for an appointment. Give them a visit, ask the question and follow the treatment plan.

All in all, when wearing orthodontics, it’s a time to let your natural whiteness shine through. You’re heading towards straight teeth, and maybe you’ll want to help your teeth be a little brighter than they naturally are in future when you switch to a Retainer Complete Care Kit.

For now, know that there are a lot of myths about how to keep your mouth healthy when wearing braces, a couple of which you can take a bite out of in our resource Steer Clear of Tooth Fairy Tales.

In the meantime, you and your orthodontist will notice how clean your teeth are with your specialist Fixed Brace Daily Care Kit.

Keep brushing!