Baton Rouge Dentist

Will teeth stains from braces ever come off?

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I am horrified. I paid a lot of money to get braces for my son because he had such crazy, crooked teeth. They stuck out in the front. We felt that braces were our best option for him. He had the braces on for two years and just got them off the end of last month. His teeth were straight and the alignment was great, but his teeth have stains around where the brackets were. Apparently he didn’t brush well. He’s happy to not have his teeth stick out, but what good are straight teeth if they have stains. He doesn’t want to smile still. Will those stains come off? What can we do?

Stacie, San Diego

Dear Stacie,

Your son is not the first to not take care of his teeth with his braces on. It is common to see staining on kids’ teeth when the brackets come off. There is hope! It depends on what type of stain your son’s teeth have, but here are some options.

  • Teeth polishing. First, if the stains are just on the surface, sometimes just a good polishing from the dentist will be enough to take care of the stains. This can sometimes help with cement residue from the brackets, as well.
  • Teeth whitening. Next, if the stains are deeper in the teeth, whitening may help. This can be done in the dental office or through at-home bleaching trays. teeth whitening tray
  • Bonding. Finally, if the stains were caused by decay where the braces were, dental bonding may help. Fortunately, bonding can be done after tooth polishing or dental whitening if they don’t work to match the coloration of the teeth.

To get started, it may be best to visit a cosmetic dentist to understand what caused the stains so you can create a path to a white smile your son will want to show off.

This blog is sponsored by Baton Rouge dentist Ryan P. Perry.

Will Teeth Whitening Hurt My Dental Implants?

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I’ve got three dental implants. My teeth have been slowly yellowing and I’d like to whiten them, but I’m worried they’ll damage my dental implants. My dentist gave me the screw retained kind of implant so I think I can take them off while I’m whitening if necessary. I think he did that because I told him I wanted to whiten my teeth when we were discussing my tooth replacement options. Unfortunately, my dentist has been sick and is taking an extended leave, so I’ve got to figure this out on my own.

Logan L.

Dear Logan,

I’m sorry your dentist has been ill. I’m guessing you feel out of balance trying to make plans without your normal care giver. I wish your dentist would have whitened your teeth before you received your dental implants. That makes matching everything much easier.

You can still whiten your teeth without fear of it damaging your dental implants. Teeth whitening only works on natural tooth structure, so the gel will whiten your teeth and leave the implant crowns as they are. However, that leaves you with a separate problem. It leaves the implants exactly the way they are. So, if they matched your implants to your older teeth (which I hope they did), they will not match your new beautiful, white color.

Fortunately, you do have screw-retained dental implants. That’s good, because it makes it easier to remove and replace the crown. So, get your teeth whitened. Then give it a couple of weeks for the color to settle down. Make sure your new dentist has some skill with cosmetic dentistry.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

I Think the Teeth Whitening Shop Destroyed My Teeth?

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I went to a teeth whitening shop which opened in our city mall. The sales lady assured me only certified teeth whitening specialists were allowed to work on my teeth. I liked their price and she showed me all their safety measures so it sounded like a good alternative to my dentist. I asked how they could do the procedure so much cheaper than my dentist and she said it was an issue of lower overhead. They only do this procedure so they won’t have to have a ton of staff or expensive machines. I think I made a huge mistake. My gums feel like they’re being stabbed by a hundred mini daggers and my teeth look all blotchy, especially where I have a filling. Are my teeth destroyed? With the pain to my gums, will I lose my teeth?

Dolly M.

Dear Dolly,

It’s more likely the pain to your gums is a result of the whitening agent or the light they used coming in contact with your gums. That won’t make your teeth fall out, but it will hurt like the dickens. Saltwater rinses may give you some relief. If they were as trained as they claimed to be, they would have taken precautions to protect your gums.

That brings me to their “certification”. There is no such thing as a certified teeth whitening specialist through the American Dental Association. That’s likely just a term they use for their company when they “train” their employees. However, this training is showing some real deficits.

We’ve already discussed how your gums should have been protected during the teeth whitening procedure. But, they should have discussed your fillings with you before moving forward with your treatment. Dental work, such as fillings or crowns, do not whiten. Only natural tooth structure is affected by the whitening agent. Once a couple of weeks have passed and the color has had a chance to settle, you can have white fillings re-done to match the new, whiter color of your teeth.

If you’re still in pain, even with the salt-water rinses, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to take a pain reliever, such as ibuprofen.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Are Whitening Toothpastes Safe?

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My sister in law tends to behave like she knows everything. It can get a little annoying. Recently I told her I’d been using a whitening toothpaste. She insists it will damage my teeth. Normally, I’d blow off her know-it-all comments, but in this case I worry she may know something I don’t. She’s a dental hygienist. Is she right? Will they damage my teeth?

Jenna T. – Virginia

Jenna,

I’m sorry you have a tense relationship with your sister-in-law.  Families can be challenging. Sometimes they annoy us without us even understanding why. The fact is, your gut assumption was right. Your sister-in-law had some extra information.

Most whitening toothpastes have an abrasive ingredient. While they are effective at removing surface stains, they have two downsides.

  1. They only remove surface stains. Most teeth stains are beneath the surface. You’ll need professional teeth whitening to truly get all those stains. I don’t know your age, but whatever it is you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out how much younger that one simple cosmetic procedure makes us look. Professional level teeth whitening takes years off our smiles.
  2. It sabotages your efforts. That abrasive ingredient, while it may scrape off those surface stains, it also etches into your healthy enamel. This has the unfortunate side-effect of causing your feet to pick up more stains. It’s a vicious cycle:  Your teeth get stained, you brush with whitening toothpaste, the stains come off, but etch your teeth, which causes them to pick up more stains.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Whitened My Teeth Before I Knew I Was Pregnant

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Did I hurt my baby? I whitened my teeth before I even knew I was pregnant.

Terrified Almost Mom – California

Dear Terrified,

You’re not an “almost” mom, you’re a mom. And based on your question, you’re a great one.  First, take a deep breath. You haven’t hurt your baby. I realize teeth whitening hasn’t been approved by the FDA for use during pregnancy, but here’s why.

In order to get FDA clearance, trials have to be performed in which pregnant mothers have teeth whitening done and then healthy babies are born. As you can imagine, there aren’t many moms who are running to have experimentation done on their unborn child.

If you’re still worried, just remember there’s nothing you can change about something that’s already done and stress IS bad for your baby. Relax.  From here on out, just don’t do any touch-ups, eat healthy, be active, and don’t punish yourself for something which wasn’t wrong.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Can You Whiten Your Teeth Too Much?

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I have a girlfriend with a smile that can knock you off your feet. It was that very smile that first attracted me to her. In fact, it was all I could see. She’s a nurse anesthetist, so she was covered head to toe in scrubs. One of the things I’ve noticed since we’ve started dating is she has her teeth whitened every year.  Is it possible she could inadvertently be damaging her teeth?

Peter W. – Oxford, MS

Peter,

While it is possible to whiten your teeth too much, your girlfriend doesn’t seem to be in danger of that based on the information you’ve given. I’m going on the assumption that she goes to her dentist yearly for her teeth whitening. If that’s the case, he’d be obligated to make sure she’s a viable candidate for her “touch ups” and her teeth are healthy enough.

Those who do whiten too much, will soon find that they’re hurting their own cause. Their teeth will become sensitive. Additionally, the cosmetic appearance they’re striving so hard for will actually move backward.

The teeth will become translucent and eventually take on a gray color. Then they’re teeth will become brittle and chalky.

However, as I said earlier, your girlfriend is likely not in that category. Once a year is not at risk for such problems without there being outside factors to interfere with her enamel.

One thing you can remind her, is that the pores on her teeth are more open directly after teeth whitening. That puts her at a greater risk for absorbing staining food and drink.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Why Won’t My Gray Tooth Whiten?

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I have a tooth that turned gray. It’s been so frustrating, because I just can’t get it to whiten. I’ve been using whitestrips. Every other tooth whitens except that one. Why can’t I get it to whiten?

Sam W. – Kansas

Sam,

It sounds like that tooth has suffered some trauma. Nothing will whiten it. Not white strips. Not even professional teeth whitening.  Your stain has occurred from the inside out. The bruise on the inside of the tooth is what gives the tooth its gray appearance. Teeth whitening only works on stains that occur from the outside in.

What you’ll need is to see a dentist and have him or her do a root canal treatment on your tooth. If you’re already happy with the color of the remainder of your teeth, then you can get the crown to match the rest of your teeth.

IF you’re not happy yet, get professional teeth whitening done, so it can go quickly and then get the crown.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Teeth Whitening with Cavities

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I’m getting some conflicting information and am hoping for some advice. I went in for a checkup and learned I have a cavity. My dentist mentioned that if I wanted to get my teeth whitened I’d want to do it before the fillings so they can match. I had considered getting that done before, but never actually moved on it. Now I’m hurrying to do research and I read that you’re not supposed to get your teeth whitened when you have cavities. So, which is it?

Brooke M. – Florida

Brooke,

It’s one of the catch-22 situations. Yes, you’ll want to get your teeth whitened beforehand. If you don’t then you’re stuck with two choices: 1. Get the fillings done, guessing at the color you’ll have. 2. Get the fillings done, whiten, then re-do the fillings to match.

Neither of those options sounds great. Who’d want to guess, and who’d want to do the same procedure twice?

The reason some dentists say you can’t get teeth whitening done with cavities is because of the sensitivity that can come with the whitening procedure. When you have cavities, the tooth structure is closer to the nerves, which can cause more pain.

That being said. If your dentist must have thought you were a good candidate or he wouldn’t have mentioned the procedure to you. I suspect your cavities are small and would not cause excessive sensitivity. If you’re concerned, I’d ask to do some fluoride treatments, which will help.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

Can I Whiten a Preschoolers Tooth?

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My daughter had an accident that turned her tooth gray. The dentist wants me to leave it alone because he thinks it will fall out in a year or so. I don’t want her made fun of by the other children. Can’t I whiten it? My dentist thinks I’m a little over the top.

Beth Q. – L.A.,  California

Beth,

I know appearances are a big deal in LA, but in this case I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Most preschoolers are more interested in having fun with their friends than what the appearance is. If you daughter was in later elementary onward, it might be a different story.

The truth is in your daughter’s situation, teeth whitening won’t work. So, it’s not even an option.

The key will be not making it into a big deal. If you don’t act like there is anything wrong with the tooth, she won’t feel uncomfortable. Then, in about a year, it will fall out and she can start fresh with a nice adult tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

 

Teeth Whitening and Dental Bonding

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I had a chipped tooth repaired with bonding several years ago. Can I whiten my teeth?

Nicole N. – Boston

Nicole,

You can whiten your teeth, but your dental bonding won’t whiten with them. It’s an unfortunate aspect of any type of cosmetic work. Only your natural teeth will respond to teeth whitening.

Then doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You’ll just have to have the dental bonding re-done.

To be honest, if you’ve had the bonding for several years, it’s likely time to have it re-done anyway. Just be sure to do the whitening first, then have your dentist match the bonding to the whitening.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.