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,
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.