Dealing with White Spots on Teeth

Have you noticed white spots on your teeth? These are known as white spot lesions and can be caused by many things, and they can make you feel unhappy with the appearance of your smile.

Fortunately, there are several approaches to dealing with them so you can have a beautiful smile again.

What Causes White Spots on Teeth?

The causes of white spots on your teeth can be related to developmental factors, oral health factors, and even previous cosmetic dentistry treatments.

Minor Fluorosis

Fluorosis occurs when someone gets too much fluoride in their bodies. Fluoride is an essential catalyst for mineralizing your teeth, but if you get too much of it, it can cause problems with the formation of your tooth enamel. Most often, this occurs when someone gets fluoride from a natural water source with high fluoride levels or gets fluoride from multiple sources. More serious fluorosis can cause yellow or even brown spots.

Enamel Hypoplasia

When our teeth are forming, we need vital nutrients to help them form properly. If you don’t get them, your teeth may bear witness, showing areas where the enamel didn’t form properly, the white spots.

Orthodontic Brackets

Orthodontics can be good for the health and appearance of your smile, but not so with the brackets. When brackets are bonded to your tooth for a long time, it prevents your tooth from having exposure to your saliva. Saliva is a natural tooth remineralize, and if your teeth aren’t exposed to it over time, they can change, taking on a white appearance.

Tooth Decay

When your teeth get cavities, they may turn dark brown or even black. But before that, they can turn white. This shows that oral bacteria are robbing your teeth of minerals, but decay hasn’t started yet.

Getting Rid of White Spots

Tracking down the cause of white spots can help you avoid them in the future, either for yourself or your children. But what can be done about the spots you already have? There are many potential treatments for your white spots.

Teeth whitening can be used to brighten your teeth, causing them to blend in with the white spots. At first, it might look like the white spots got brighter, too, but they will fade faster than the rest of your teeth and the effect can be quite good.

Other times, we might want to remove the white spots physically. Gentle microabrasion can remove the malformed or damaged enamel so your tooth enamel will all look uniform and healthy.

If the abrasions are too deep or extensive to abrade away safely, we might recommend covering them with porcelain veneers. This is an especially appealing choice if you have other cosmetic issues you want to address at the same time, such as chipped or worn teeth.

Are you tired of the white spots on your teeth? If so, then please call (310) 275-5325 today for an appointment with Beverly Hills cosmetic dentist at Nicolas A. Ravon, DDS, MSD.

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