My daughter had her braces removed not too long ago. When she did, her teeth had white spots on them which made her teeth uneven in color. Our dentist suggested we have Zoom Whitening done, which she said is the strongest teeth whitening. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The teeth are whiter, but still uneven. Did something go wrong with it?
Shannon
Dear Shannon,
Your dentist is confused about this situation. First, teeth whitening, no matter what type is not the fix for uneven tooth color. The reason for that is because it whitens all of the tooth simultaneously, so the white spots get whiter along with the remainder of the tooth. These white spots on your daughter’s teeth are decalcifications spots. Think of them as precursors to decay. It happened because your daughter had trouble getting her teeth clean around all those metal wires and brackets.
The best way to treat this is by having a dentist do microabrasion on the decalcified spots and then covering them with dental bonding. However, dental bonding is one of the most advanced cosmetic procedures a dentist can do because it has to be done freehand. I really do not think your dentist is qualified to do the bonding. I say that because teeth whitening is the most basic of the cosmetic procedures and she was confused about that. I am going to recommend you go elsewhere to have this done for your daughter.
So, who should you get to do this? I am going to recommend you use a dentist who has been accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. These are the best cosmetic dentists in the country. Any one of them can do a fantastic job in getting your daughter’s teeth back to normal. You don’t have to switch dentists to do that. Cosmetic dentists are used to just working on a single procedure for someone and then having them return to their general dentist for their regular dental care.
This blog is brought to you by Des Moines Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Phelan Thomas.