decalcification while wearing braces

[Ladybird]

Hi,

I am 30 years old and started orthodontic treatment 10 months ago, 4 months ago for lowers. During the first few months my cleaning was diligent however as the novelty of the whole thing wore off the cleaning got gradually worse.

For example I wouldn't brush them at lunch time and wouldn't go around the brackets with the interdental brush and occasionally accidently fall asleep and so miss brushing them.

On the upside I do have them professionally cleaned about every 3 months.

I am so annoyed with myself and I am now worried about decalcification and have seen some awful pictures on google images.

I expressed my concerns to my dentist (not my ortho) who said they looked clean and that they will see if I have white marks when the braces are removed. (In a year)

I thought that the white marks appeared around the the brackets and therefore thought that if I had them I would be able to see them.

I have checked my teeth in good light and I can't see anything. My question is If I can't see any marks does this mean that I can still prevent decalcification?

Thank you for your time

[rosepetal77]

I ended up with some minor decalcification marks too. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they can be difficult to see until you have your braces off.
On the bright side, I know there are ways of treating them. Has your dentist or ortho said anything about MI paste? Sometimes it's possible to reverse the marks but it takes several months to do so. At the very least it might help prevent cavities because the white spots are defective areas in your enamel that will be more prone to cavities(I know this from experience.) A cosmetic option could include a procedure called microabrasion or bonding might help. I just recently read something ICON resin infiltration to treat white spots that I'm trying to learn more about but I don't think many dentists use it yet. I hope this helps! Don't feel too bad because, unfortunately, this isn't uncommon and I'm sure many others are in the same boat as you.