When you are straightening your teeth with braces or Invisalign aligners, it’s only natural to want to keep your smile looking at its best. You, therefore, may be wondering if you can whiten your teeth while using braces. Well, before you get that whitening kit or toothpaste, it makes sense to first find out if you can whiten with your hardware placed in your mouth.
Can I Whiten with Braces?
You may have noticed that there is a lot of misleading and confusing information when it comes to whitening with braces in your mouth. Some sources say yes, others warn you to not dire it. Technically, you may whiten your teeth if you have braces, but again, you should be cautious because the over-the-counter whiteners contain different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Also, these whitening kits only remove loose stains leaving those beneath the brackets unremoved. If this happens, you will only have the visible parts of the teeth whitened while the areas covered by the braces won’t. As such, you may end up with a two-toned smile. Even professional in-office whitening can still fail to bring the results you desire if you have brackets in the way. Besides, teeth whitening tends to cause sensitivity, thus if you have braces put on, whitening can worsen the sensitivity. Moreover, it’s not advisable to whiten if you have uncontrolled plaque or active decay. Wearing braces creates more places where plaque can hide. So if you don’t remove all the plaque by flossing and brushing, it turns into tartar, which you cannot remove at home.
Can I Whiten With Invisalign?
Invisalign aligners are designed to be removable, meaning that you can easily remove bacteria and plaque. When you remove the trays, it ensures they don’t get in the way while using whitening strips or toothpaste as it happens with braces. However, if you have Invisalign attachments, they can interfere with the over-the-counter whitening just like brackets do. Learn how you can whiten your teeth with Invisalign or braces. Contact our orthodontic specialists today.
