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Will Dental Insurance Cover My Daughter’s Splotchy Teeth?

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After we took off my daughter’s braces, there are two tones on some of her teeth, which gives them a splotchy look. Will dental insurance cover this repair? If so, is teeth whitening the way to fix it or does she need something else?

Sandy

Dear Sandy,

before and after a dental bonding procedure

When there is a splotchy look on teeth after braces it usually means that they had a hard time (or neglected) really getting their toothbrush around all the wires and brackets of the braces. The whiter spots on her teeth are decalcification spots. Those are precursors to decay.

Teeth whitening will not be the solution to this. When you bleach teeth, the teeth are evenly whitened. This has the opposite affect and actually makes the difference between the two colors more noticeable.

The best solution to this is to have some microabrasion done, which gently removes the decalcification, followed by dental bonding, which will get the tooth back to a uniform look and protect the area. This is an advanced procedure that has to be done freehand. I would only allow a dentist who is serious about cosmetic dentistry do it. The repair has to blend in seamlessly with the remainder of the tooth. The picture above shows how dental bonding can be used to repair a chipped tooth.

Will Dental Insurance Cover Dental Bonding?

Because, in your daughter’s case, there was damage to the enamel, your insurance should be obligated to use benefits for this. However, don’t expect your insurance to pay for it outright. The most you will probably get is a portion of the procedure covered. Also, insurance will only care about functionality, not how beautiful the result is.

Don’t try to find the cheapest dentist in order to save money on this. Neither you nor your daughter will like the results. Find the dentist who creates beautiful results. After all that money spent on braces, you will both want a smile she can be proud of.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Tooth Mousse for White Spots

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I have some white spots on my teeth. My dentist suggested tooth mousse. I’ve been using it for about two months and now he is suggesting that I start teeth whitening. Will this finally take care of the white spots? I want to be proud of my smile.

Callie

Dear Callie,

Teeth Whitening Trays

 

I can tell that your dentist is trying to help, but in this case I think he is a bit in over his head. It sounds like he is a caring family dentist but just may not have invested much training in cosmetic dentistry.

Sometimes white spots are because of demineralization of teeth, which is a precursor to decay. In that case, tooth mousse is useful because it is meant to help remineralize teeth. However, it does not make any esthetic claims. So, the tooth mousse was a good idea from a tooth health standpoint, but is not likely to alleviate the spots themselves.

The teeth whitening, however, is going to make the white spots appear worse. When teeth are bleached, they are whitened uniformly. That means while the rest of your teeth get whiter, so will the white spots. This will actually end up making them more noticeable.

There are two successful ways to get rid of white spots. However, both of them require someone with expertise in cosmetic dentistry. I don’t think your current dentist will be able to do it. That doesn’t mean you have to switch dentists, just stay with your dentist for your general dental work and then for the more specialized cosmetic work go to a dentist with more training in cosmetic dentistry.

The first way is with a procedure called microabrasion. A dentist will rub an acid-pumice slurry onto the surface of the teeth. The white spots often disappear when that is used.

A second option is to have dental bonding done. With this procedure, your dentist can cover the white spots with a composite resin. This has to be done freehand so make sure they show you before and after pictures of cases they have done so that you have some evidence they can make it look beautiful and natural.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

White Spots on Teeth

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Since my adult teeth came in, the bottom half of my two front teeth have been very white. I’ve kind of liked how they made me look in pictures, but when I am in person my teeth do not look like they match. Is there a way to get them all the same color that doesn’t require Lumineers? That is what my dentist is suggesting, but it is incredibly expensive. I was hoping there was a way to whiten the the rest of my teeth to match those two front teeth. Is that possible?

Erin

Dear Erin,

teeth bleaching trays

Teeth Bleaching Trays

Yes, it is possible to whiten the remainder of your teeth and leave these two alone. It will take an expert cosmetic dentist to supervise this, though. He or she will need to cut the area where your front teeth are away from the whitening trays. Your dentist’s suggestion of Lumineers makes me think they may not have the expertise. This is a brand of porcelain veneers that is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists.

There are two types of white spots on teeth. The first, is just there from the time the teeth came in. This seems to be what you have and is not an issue. The second is decalcification of your teeth and is actually a precursor to tooth decay. We see this a lot with people who have their braces removed. It is often tricky to get the teeth adequately cleaned with all those metal wires and brackets, so we see this decalcification when people finish their orthodontics.

Those can be fixed with some dental bonding, but again, it would require an expert cosmetic dentist. It is an advanced procedure that has to be done freehand.

Your teeth whitening plan is a good one.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Zoom Whitening and Uneven Teeth

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I’m wondering if our dentist did the Zoom Whitening wrong. Here’s the situation. When my daughter’s braces were removed, her teeth had an uneven color. Our dentist suggested we whiten them with Zoom because it is the strongest whitening. While her teeth are whiter, they’re still uneven and it actually makes it look worse. Did something go wrong with the procedure?

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

Patient under the Zoom Whitening Light

 

I’m sure the Zoom whitening procedure was done correctly. The steps are fairly straightforward. The problem your daughter is facing is that it was not the right procedure for her situation. Any type of teeth whitening procedures, including Zoom, whiten teeth evenly. It won’t selectively whiten some areas to match the others. So what is the right treatment for your daughter’s situation?

The white spots on your daughter’s teeth are decalcification spots. This is fairly common after traditional braces. It is quite hard to brush thoroughly around all those metal wires and brackets. When students don’t brush those areas well enough the decalcification spots show up. Essentially, they are pre-cavities so you don’t want to leave them.

You can try a special product called Tooth Mousse that can remineralize teeth in certain situations, but in most cases, this has to be treated with dental bonding. To do this, a dentist will gently remove the decalcified area and replace it with composite dental bonding. It does take some artistry and training to do this well. It is a more advanced procedure than teeth whitening.

Because of this, I am going to recommend you use a different dentist for this particular procedure. Teeth whitening is the easiest cosmetic procedure there is and your dentist was confused about its principles. I don’t think there is much chance they will be able to do the bonding well.

For the benefit of other parents reading this, one way to avoid this situation is to get Invisalign instead of traditional braces. They’re removable, so it is easier to brush thoroughly. However, because they’re removable it does require your teeth to be responsible. If you don’t think they’ll wear them the correct amount of time or will lose them, then I’d stick with the braces.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.