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Why do I have discoloured marks on my teeth?

Why do my teeth have white/brown marks on them?

Our teeth are formed in layers, the outer layer known as the enamel is formed while the teeth are imbedded underneath our gums. This formation happens at a different stage for every tooth, and for our adult teeth it occurs between 1-7 years of age.

A disturbance at the time of formation of the outer enamel surface sometimes causes a change in the cells making them stop, modify or influence the development of the enamel. These disturbances can make the teeth appear, rough, discoloured or flaky in colour consistency.

Research has provided many hints as to what influences the changes in the enamel laying cells including early childhood illnesses, high fevers, and medications such as antibiotics, excessive fluoride use, trauma as a child and environmental factors. Although research is available it can be very difficult to determine the exact cause of the discolouration.

How can I change the appearance of these white/brown marks?

The severity and extend of the mark or stain needs to first be determined by a dental professional. Sometimes the mark is deep and penetrates through to the second layer of our teeth known as the dentine, thus making it harder to treat non-invasively.

A minimally invasive treatment for mild to moderate marks on front teeth is a treatment known as micro-abrasion. Micro-abrasion is a technique where by an acid-abrasive gel helps to remove the stains. The gel is applied and polished off with light pressure until the mark gradually disappears or becomes more consistent with the surrounding tooth structure.

Following micro-abrasion, teeth whitening in chair or through in take home kits can be used to enhance the process as well as the use of GC Tooth Mousse Plus to enrich the tooth enamel with calcium and phosphate minerals. Whitening or bleaching teeth without micro-abrasion can sometimes boost the opacity of white spots further, making them become more noticeable. 

Deep stains need to be treated by removing as much discolouration as possible and covering it up with either a white filling material or dental veneers.

Micro-abrasion cannot fix all discolorations, but is a conservative approach that should always be considered prior to more invasive treatment. This method is available at Concord Dental Practice; speak to one of our health professionals about this today. 

http://www.oralhealthcrc.org.au/content/tooth-mousse-plus

http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/cosmetic-dentistry/teeth-whitening/article/tooth-discoloration

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1678-77572014000400347

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