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My daughter recently had her braces removed. However, they have left her with some white spots on her teeth. Our dentist tried teeth whitening with those little trays, but that only seemed to make the white spots more apparent. Now she is suggesting Zoom Whitening. It’s even more expensive and we’re running out of money. I’d like to make sure it will work before I spend any more. The braces themselves took my entire savings. Have you had any experience with this?
Laurie
Dear Laourie,
While I am certain your dentist has good intentions, she doesn’t understand the white spots or how teeth whitening works. Let’s start with the teeth whitening, and then we’ll go into the way to solve this issue for your daughter. When a patient uses teeth whitening, whether it is with the take-home tray whitening or in-office zoom whitening, it will do the same thing. It will whiten the teeth evenly. That means while her teeth get whiter, so do the white spots.
These white spots that come after braces are decalcification spots, which are precursors to decay. These happen when the teeth aren’t adequately brushed during orthodontic treatment. It is quite common. However, the treatment will not entail teeth whitening. Instead, you will need to see a cosmetic dentist. He can gently sand away the white spots and then cover the area with composite dental bonding.
I would not have your dentist do this. It would take some expertise in dental bonding. I really doubt she has the skill necessary to do this well. You will have to go to a different dentist to have this done. Make sure you look at their before and after images of cases they’ve done similar to your daughter’s. This will give you some idea of the type of results they get. Make sure you hold out for someone who does an excellent job.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentist Dr. John Theriot.