Brown Teeth Stains

A Burton patient asks whether cosmetic dentistry can do anything for his stained teeth.

Discoloured teeth come in all shades and degrees. Some are relatively easily rectified, whilst others may take more comprehensive treatment to whiten them again. A recent question from one of our Burton patients is a case in point.

Q. As you know, there was a time when most men smoked cigarettes, and I was certainly no exception. I did manage to reduce it to twenty a day later on, but smoked at least double that at my peak. I finally managed to quit five years ago and have certainly felt more active since. I had hoped the colour of my teeth would improve too but that hasn’t happened unfortunately. I’m coming up for retirement shortly and will have a little cash sum when I do and I’m wondering whether investing in cosmetic dentistry would enable me to have whiter teeth again?

Hello, and thanks for your question. It is certainly good news that you have stopped smoking, and we know, from talking to patients, how difficult that can be. It does sound though, like you have been a heavy smoker and brown stained teeth are not uncommon in these situations.

I am sure that our team at Alexandra Dental Care can help you to have nicer looking teeth. Without a prior examination though, it is impossible to say which treatment would work best, so the best thing to do is to make an appointment for a consultation with one of the cosmetic dentists in our practice close to your Burton home.

There are three possible treatments which may achieve the results that you want:

Professional clean – I suspect, given what you have said, that having a professional clean by our hygienist would not make a large amount of difference to the colour of your teeth, although it may lighten them a little. Even so, I would still strongly advise that you see her as smoking may have increased the risk of problems such as gum disease.

Teeth whitening – Our in house teeth whitening procedure is a highly effective way to have whiter teeth. Not only does it remove external staining, but also lightens the inner part of the tooth which naturally darkens over time. Again, it is impossible to say how effective this would prove from the description of your discolouration, but I would expect to see some improvement and would advise you as to how much improvement to expect before the procedure goes ahead.

Dental veneers – Should your teeth be too heavily stained by years of smoking for a tooth whitening procedure to be effective enough, the other available option is to have dental veneers fitted. These are very fine layers of tooth shaped porcelain which are then attached to the front of your teeth, following the removal of an equivalent thickness of the discoloured enamel.

Although some patients, take the opportunity, when having veneers fitted, to have them in a bright shade of white, this is not necessary and you may wish to choose a shade that is brighter but perhaps more natural looking for you. Each patient has different requirements and we can discuss all of this with you at your consultation.

If you are looking for an experienced cosmetic dentist near Burton, we are happy to help. Simply call Alexandra Dental Care today on 01283 216347 to start the ball rolling towards having nicer looking teeth.

Google+