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Treating tetracycline
stains on teeth
When children are treated with
the antibiotic tetracycline during the time that their teeth are forming,
the tetracycline will deposit in the dentin of the developing teeth and
cause a permanent stain.
Permanent teeth begin forming around birth,
and continue until age twelve or so for most teeth. Once a tooth has
appeared in the mouth, it is pretty much done forming, of course.
Tetracycline has an affinity for bone and
tooth structure. The tetracycline actually will adhere to the dentin of the
tooth and become permanently a part of the tooth. The enamel can be affected
somewhat, also, but enamel is more translucent that dentin, and tetracycline
stains are more problematic in the dentin. And cosmetic dentists who have
treated tetracycline-stained teeth know that the deeper you go into a tooth,
the darker they become.
Tetracycline stains can be either gray or brown or various shades in
between. Especially as they get more intense, they tend to have a banding
pattern where there are dark horizontal bands of stain across several teeth.
The position of the bands of tetracycline stain corresponds to the part of
the tooth that was developing at the time the child was taking tetracycline.
Treating tetracycline stains
Tetracycline stains in teeth are particularly
stubborn. While bleaching will whiten the teeth, patients need to be very
persistent, because the bleaching proceeds very slowly.
We ordinarily don't recommend power bleaching,
Zoom, Brite Smile, or laser bleaching for tetracycline stains. While these
tooth bleaching treatments are powerful, a single visit isn't effective
enough for bleaching these teeth. If the patient is braced for multiple
power bleaching treatments, Zoom or Brite Smile or another power bleaching
treatment can be effective. Plan on ten or more power or laser bleaching
treatments. For
bleaching teeth with tetracycline stains, we think it is better for most
patients to simply use a professional at-home tray bleaching system. This
will be more economical and more convenient for most patients. Just continue
to bleach for several months, and your teeth will become very gradually
whiter. However, with
bleaching, your teeth will still never attain a natural whiteness. If you
have tetracycline stains, your teeth can only become a natural shade of
white with porcelain veneers or crowns. We recommend porcelain veneers from
an expert cosmetic dentist. We have a page with
tips on picking a cosmetic dentist.
Treating tetracycline stains is no job for a general dentist who does some
cosmetic dentistry on the side. The dark, dark stain is very difficult to
mask unless the cosmetic dentist has a thorough knowledge of color issues
obtained from extensive post-graduate training. |
