Archive for April, 2012

Whitening Tetracycline Stains

Friday, April 13th, 2012

I had some dental bonding done on some teeth that are really dark because of some medicine I took as a child. The bonding is getting pretty chipped.  I was wondering if there was a new, advanced whitener that could help me? I don’t have the money for porcelain veneers.

Jennifer- Minneapolis, MN

Jennifer,

You have what is known as tetracycline stains. This medicine stains the dentin of the permanent teeth if taken before the patient is twelve. If you don’t have the money for porcelain veneers, you still have a decent option, but it will only work if the bonding was placed on top of your existing enamel.

I would have your dentist remove the bonding with sandpaper disks. Then I would get the strongest whitening gel your dentist can give you and use the take home trays to do teeth whitening. It will take a few months, and they will not get as white as they would with porcelain veneers, but they will look a whole lot better.

Don’t do Zoom Whitening, because that is in office whitening. With the number of appointments you need, it would be too expensive. With take home whitening, you just have to replace the bleaching gel. You can even get that online if your dentist is charging more than you can afford.

This blog is brought to you by Boca Raton Dentist Dr. David Kagan.

Do amalgam fillings stain your teeth?

Friday, April 13th, 2012

I have an amalgam filling on a back tooth that I want replaced with composite. It takes up about 70% of the tooth. However, my dentist told me that amalgam fillings stain your teeth and they wouldn’t look very nice after he removed them. Is this true?

Jeffrey in Seattle

Jeffrey,

While it is true that amalgam fillings can stain your teeth, everyone I have replaced looks much better than it did with the amalgam filling. Especially with it being on your back tooth, I don’t see any mild discoloration being a major factor. To be honest, it sounds to me like he isn’t very comfortable placing composite fillings. You absolutely don’t want to press this issue with him. It takes a special bonding technique to place white fillings. There are many horror stories about improperly bonded composite fillings where the patient ended up needing a root canal.

I would suggest looking for a different dentist to do this procedure. I’m also a little concerned that you’re saying the filling takes up about 70% of the tooth. That large of a filling really should have a dental crown placed on the tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Boca Raton dentist Dr. David Kagan.