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Tired Of Having Stained Teeth?

How we perceive our smile and appearance affects our self-esteem, our moods and how we function in social and business relationships. Common conditions that impact negatively on your smile include broken, cracked or worn teeth, discolored teeth, missing teeth, crooked teeth, decayed teeth, gaps between your teeth and/or "gummy smiles." Each patient and each specific circumstance must be evaluated on its own merits. Factors such as occlusion [bite], oral habits, available space, health of the gum tissue, severity of the problem and patient expectation must be taken into consideration while planning your cosmetic makeover. Stains may become part of the tooth structure or may be only surface stains that can be removed by a good prophylaxis [cleaning]. In either case, the esthetic appearance of one's mouth is compromised.
Certain foods and drinks including coffee, tea, grape juice, carrot juice, berries and beets can cause staining. Teeth with old, large amalgam fillings may darken from the leaching out of silver salts. Sometimes, replacing the amalgam filling with tooth colored materials solves this problem. When an individual tooth darkens, it may be from trauma or because the pulp [nerve] has died. Bleeding within the tooth or debris in the pulp can create a dark gray appearance. If a child has a high fever or is given certain medications such as Tetracycline during the formation stage of a tooth, permanent discoloration can occur. Often the treatment of choice is some form of bleaching procedure to make the teeth whiter.
Bleaching would not have solved this person's problem, because the dark Tetracycline "bands" that might have been made lighter would not have disappeared. Ceramic crowns were use to cover the teeth and close the Diastema [space]. Call our office if you think you're a candidate for this type of procedure.