My daughter had gotten her braces off several weeks ago and there were white spots on her teeth. Our orthodontist told me to see our dentist who would know how to fix the white spots. Our dentist suggested we whiten her teeth. Because we were in such a hurry to get her teeth looking normal and attractive, she suggested Zoom Whitening, which is a new procedure she had started doing. We did it but it made the spots a lot worse. Did she do something wrong? She did tell me we’d be one of the first patients to use the procedure.
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
I am sorry your daughter has been getting such poor care. I think your dentist is well intentioned but doesn’t understand the principles of teeth whitening very well.
When teeth are whitened, they are whitened uniformly. That means the white spots will get whiter along with the remainder of your daughter’s teeth. Zoom whitening is very effective, which meant it just whitened the teeth uniformly faster.
The Cause of White Spots on Teeth
When there are white spots on teeth after braces, it is because of decalcification. This happens when the teeth are not adequately cleaned during the time they are wearing braces. It can be hard to get around all those metal wires and brackets.
There is a tooth mousse that could help with the decalcification, however it does not usually help with the esthetics. One way that will deal with both issues is dental bonding.
However, dental bonding is a very advanced cosmetic dental procedure. As your dentist did not have a grasp of the principles of teeth whitening, which is the simplest cosmetic procedure, she will not be able to do the dental bonding well.
My suggestion is that you take your daughter to an expert cosmetic dentist to have the dental bonding done.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.