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Teeth Whitening for Children

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My daughter had an accident which caused one of her teeth to gray. The dentist said there was nothing to worry about and it will fall out soon enough. I wanted to get it whitened, but he said that was absurd, and lectured me about making appearances so important to my daughter. Is it really impossible to whiten that tooth?

Alison J. – Little Rock, AR

Alison,

It sounds like your dentist doesn’t have the best bedside (or chairside) manner. It was rude for him to treat you that way, regardless of the viability of the treatment.

Unfortunately, even though he went about it the wrong way, your dentist was correct about the treatment. First, teeth whitening would be done on a complete arch, not a single tooth.

In this case, however, even if you wanted to do the entire arch it wouldn’t matter. The graying is from trauma, not staining, which means the whitening procedure would be ineffective. In fact, it’s more likely to whiten all the teeth but the gray one, making it more obvious.

If kids at school are teasing her, help her to be armed with a comeback.  One of my friends has a child with a crazy cowlick that is so bad, that can’t get it to stay even with goopy gel.  Instead of stressing about it, they took a different approach. Her son named the cowlick and made a joke out of it.  Now all the kids have fun with it and greet both Steve and his cowlick sidekick. Some of them even wish they had one.

The key is, if she’s confident, the kids will back off.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Can a third grader get teeth whitening?

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My third grader has pretty yellow teeth. I try to get him to brush them, but he never wants to.  I don’t want the other kids to make fun of him for yellow teeth, but my dentist thinks I’m ridiculous for even suggesting it and absolutely refuses.

Melissa – North Carolina

Melissa,

First, I want to assure you that most children don’t pay much attention fo shades of teeth in a judgmental way. And many third grade boys struggle with not only oral hygiene, but hygiene in general. It’s like trying to give a cat a bath.

I will say I agree with your dentist about giving a third grader teeth whitening. It’s not only not necessary, but it’s a challenging procedure to sit through and he’d have to be very still and keep a tray with the whitening gel in his mouth. He’s very likely to balk about that.

I’d focus on making his oral hygiene the priority. Whitening is great for dealing with years of natural staining. It’s not intended to cover up neglect. What we don’t want to give him is the idea that there is an easy way out.  He’ll have much bigger problems than yellow teeth if his habits don’t improve.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

My teeth are whitening themselves in spots. Can I do the rest so they’ll be even?

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I was very surprised when I looked in the mirror this morning and was surprised to see there were white spots on my teeth. It’s like my teeth are whitening themselves. Is there a way I can go to my dentist for whitening to even it out? Only parts of the teeth have the spots. The rest are kind of dingy.

Olivia M. – Maine

Olivia,

I have to warn you, those white spots aren’t your teeth whitening. They’re decalcification spots. It means your teeth are on the road to tooth decay.

Going to your dentist to have them whitened all the way won’t even them out. It will make the difference more noticeable. Instead, you need to focus on getting your teeth healthy, before you do end up with cavities on those teeth.

Then, if you’re still interested in whitening them, your dentist will be able to do that too. You’ll have a healthy and gorgeous smile. One without the other is rarely fun.

This blog is brought to you by Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Will Teeth Whitening Even Out My Teeth?

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I have developed these white spots on my front teeth. Will I be able to use teeth whitening to even out my tooth color?

Len- Idaho

Len,

Those spots are decalcification spots, and are a pre-cursor to decay. Using teeth whitening will not even out your teeth. It will only make the discoloration more obvious.

What you’ll need to do is get the decalcification treated. Then when the teeth are healthy, if you’re still interested in getting them whitened, that will be the time.

Your dentist will likely want to do some extra care on your teeth and do some fluoride treatments.  I wouldn’t put off getting this looked at. The next step will be decay on your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Will I have to do teeth whitening more than once?

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I think I’m going to save up for teeth whitening, but I don’t want to have to do it if I just have to spend the money over and over again.  Is it permanent?

Desiree F. – Ft. Worth, tX

Desiree,

Once your teeth stains are removed with teeth whitening, they are permanently removed. The teeth are completely oxidized so the stains are gone.

Just be aware that doesn’t mean your teeth can’t develop new stains. For instance, you’ve got lovely white teeth since you’re whitening treatment was completed, but every day you drink coffee. As you can imagine, with coffee’s staining properties, your teeth will eventually develop a stained look.

One thing you can do to take care of that problem (besides giving up coffee) is to keep your teeth whitening trays. Then every few years, ask your dentist for a tube of whitening gel as a touch up.  That won’t call you very much at all.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis .

Is B1 really as light as crowns can get when you’ve whitened?

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I whitened my teeth. I was thrilled with my smile.  I loved how brilliant white they were. Then I got in an accident and needed a crown (on a front tooth no less). When the crown came back, it was darker than my teeth.  I was so disappointed. My dentist told me he gave me B1 which is the lightest shade possible. I have a hard time believing that, especially in this day and age when so many people whiten their teeth. Now I’m too embarrassed to smile.  Can’t they go any whiter?

Monica L. – Knoxville, TN

Monica,

Your instincts are correct. The newer shade guides go much lighter than the old standard ones.  I suspect your dentist is just an average family dentist and not one who delves too much into cosmetic work.

Here is an example of what the old guides looked like.

vita-shade-guide

As you can see, none of them get very white.  When people started regularly whitening their teeth, the teeth guides changed. Now they have whiter options. Here is an example of the new guides.

vita-shade-guide-bleached-extension

Cosmetic dentist will use this, but maybe not just your average family dentist.  You can get your crown as white as your bleached teeth. You’ll just have to have the crown re-done, preferably by another dentist. I’d ask for a refund and start over.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

 

Teeth Whitening While pregnant

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I was planning on getting my teeth whitened, but just found out I am pregnant. Is it safe to do?

Martha A. – Kansas City, MO

Martha,

The FDA will not approve teeth whitening during pregnancy because it hasn’t run the proper tests on it to determine whether or not it is safe. The reason for that is that there aren’t a whole bunch of expectant mothers lining up to say, “Sure, test my precious unborn baby.”  Completely understandable.

It’s your decision, but I would recommend waiting until after your little bundle of joy is delivered to have your teeth whitened.  I’m not saying if you decide to go forward that you’re a horrible mother. I’m just giving you the recommendation.  It’s a personal decision and one only you can make.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods cosmetic dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Can I whiten my dental crown?

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I’ve had a dental crown on my third tooth from the front for a long time.  It’s starting to show its age and I can’t really get it clean anymore. It’s making my smile look even worse than it really is.  Is possible to whiten it and my regular teeth at the same time or do they use different whitening materials?

Kaytlin A. – New Jersey

Kaytlin,

There is no whitening material that will whiten your crown in the way your teeth are whitened.  It can me re-made to be a brighter, whiter color, but that entails getting a new crown.

My suggestion is that you whiten your teeth first. Make sure you use professional teeth whitening. It’s much more effective.  Than after a week, when the color has had time to settle, have your dentist make you a new crown.  Especially because it is a front tooth, you really need to have an all-porcelain crown placed on that tooth.

Make sure you go to an artistic dentist. They can match your crown to your new whiter teeth seemlessly.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Did I hurt my baby by whitening my teeth?

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I’d been planning a smile makeover as a surprise for our fifth anniversary. I was doing teeth whitening and then six porcelain veneers. I finished the whitening process and had my first veneer appointment when I found out I was pregnant. I did some checking and they say not to do teeth whitening when you’re pregnant. Have I hurt my baby?

Amanda C. – Boston, MA

Amanda,

I don’t want you to panic, but that’s probably a futile request. Worrying is what mom’s do.  You worry, because you love that child more than your own life…or teeth, as in this case.

The reason the FDA does not recommend teeth whitening while pregnant is because there have not been any definitve cases proving it is safe.   That’s not because they’ve been shown to be unsafe, but because what mother is going to line up to say, “Hey,  let’s see if this will hurt my baby?”

So, relax, things are probably just fine. Talk to your OB/GYN about the remainder of the work you want to do and see if they feel it is OK to continue.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Is free teeth whitening safe?

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There’s a dentist in my area that has a billboard offering free teeth whitening. Is this safe?

Hank J. – Austin, TX

Hank,

I don’t know what dentist you’re talking about, so it is hard for me to give you a judgment based on anything but a guess. However, there are circumstances I know of where dentists offer free teeth whitening.

Some do it as a new patient special. For instance, as long as you come in for your cleanings, you can get the whitening at no cost. Or some just offer that to established patients. Other’s have it as part of their practice’s discount dental plan.

It really all depends on your dentist. Professional teeth whitening is one of the easiest and safe procedures, so you probably don’t have too much to worry about.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.