What Are Those White Spots On My Teeth?

There are a lot of things that can leave stains on our teeth, and stains can come in many different colors.

You could see yellow stains, brown stains, or even the temporary stain from eating brightly colored candy, but what about when the stain is white? Where do those white spots come from, and is there anything we can do about it?

White Spots From Fluorosis

Surface stains that affect the tooth enamel sometimes appear on a tooth that is otherwise healthy. One cause of this kind of stain is fluorosis. Fluorosis occurs when developing adult teeth are exposed to too much fluoride. It doesn’t damage the teeth, but it does unevenly bleach them, leaving white spots on them before they even grow in.

To avoid white spots from fluorosis, make sure to limit the amount of fluoride toothpaste you use when brushing your child’s teeth. A tiny smear (no bigger than a grain of rice) is sufficient for babies and toddlers, and a pea-sized dab is the most you should use for a young child. When they begin brushing their own teeth, encourage them to continue going easy on the toothpaste.

The Effects Of Demineralization

A more harmful cause of white spots is demineralization. Demineralization is the gradual leaching of crucial minerals like calcium from the tooth enamel. Plaque buildup and acid exposure over time lead to demineralization, and people with braces are particularly susceptible to it.

Preventing demineralization is all about good brushing and flossing habits, as well as regular dental visits. We all should be brushing for two minutes twice a day and flossing daily, and orthodontic patients should take extra care to clean away all the food residue and plaque around the brackets to avoid white spots when the braces come off.

Enamel Hypoplasia

For an unlucky minority, white spots don’t come from demineralization or fluorosis, but from enamel hypoplasia, a condition that leaves the teeth with thinner enamel than usual and therefore more vulnerable to stains and decay. Causes of enamel hypoplasia in a child’s teeth include the mother smoking while pregnant, malnutrition, and premature birth.

Treating White Spots

It’s always better to prevent white spots from developing to begin with, but if they do appear, there are a few ways to treat them, such as microabrasion and bleaching. With microabrasion, a thin layer of enamel is scraped away to restore the tooth’s uniform appearance. Whitening treatments can improve the results of microabrasion even more, or it can be its own solution, as with bleaching. If you choose the bleaching route, we recommend professional whitening, whether in the dentist’s office or using a dentist-approved home whitening kit, for the best possible results.

Not all stains can be removed with these methods, and in these cases, veneers are an excellent option. The way these work is that the dentist attaches thin pieces of porcelain to the teeth, for a natural, uniform, white appearance.

Video Transcript

does enamel hypoplasia cause white spots on teeth yes but it’s not the only cause of white spots there are a few others that might be giving you little ugly spots on your teeth in this video we will explain the different conditions and go through some treatment options to help fix this issue pay full attention as some of it will get a bit complicated enamel hypoplasia this is a developmental defect that can affect the primary and permanent teeth in one of two ways it is sometimes identified as a

physically missing tooth structure and can be seen as pits grooves or just missing parts in the crown of the tooth it’s more of a genetic condition and develops quite early on in a child’s life hypo mineralization hypo mineralization on the other hand is a mere decrease in the mineral content of the enamel it can be severe enough to give the tooth a translucent appearance or mild enough to maintain its opacity it is hypo mineralization that leads to soft enamel demineralization this is a

process where important minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are removed from the tooth structure mainly due to the increase in acidic activity caused by bad bacteria these bacteria multiply and attach to teeth in large numbers and cause plaque to build up the bacteria and plaque love multiplying especially because of the oxygenated environment if your oral hygiene is not up to scratch then you know what happens right the plaque thickens and stops the saliva from penetrating onto the surface of the

teeth the outcome of this is that it causes calcium and ions of the portion of the tooth to diffuse into the tartar this is how white spots start to appear dental fluorosis consuming too much fluoride while the teeth are being formed can lead to fluorosis this condition causes white or brown discoloration or spots on the enamel or tooth surface the effects can range from minor color changes to surface irregularities of the teeth fluorosis does not develop after teeth have erupted into the mouth treatment options

enamel micro abrasion micro abrasion is a quick and painless solution for removing yellow white or brown spots stains and discolorations on the teeth this procedure uses high chloric acid and Pumas to gently remove layers of tooth enamel removing the stains before the procedure begins the teeth being treated are isolated with a rubber dam to protect the gums from the acid and Pumas materials the micro abrasion materials are then gently rubbed onto the surface of the tooth either manually or using a very slow

speed rubber Cup after a few layers of enamel are removed the mixture is rinsed from the teeth and the results evaluated this process may be performed repeatedly until the desired results are achieved composite resin bonding composite bonding is a cosmetic technique wherein a type of dental material in this case composite resin is shaped and molded on your teeth to give the appearance of a straighter wider smile it can be used as a cosmetic solution to chipped teeth gapped teeth and staining in both the

teeth and filling the price for this type of procedure generally starts at around 300 dollars but if most of your teeth are affected by an Amal hypoplasia then it could become quite costly the best thing to do is go to your local dentist and get their opinion on the best course of action that will give you the most bang for your buck we’ve also found that getting different opinions is better because you get an idea of what are the most popular treatment options that actually work that’s it for today

we know it’s been a bit of a rush video but hopefully you got an idea of why there are white areas on your teeth and what treatment options are out there to help you out thanks for watching and see you next week

Share this Article