White spots after braces

My daughter had braces and now she has white spots on her teeth. Our dentist had recommended whitening her teeth, but my friend said that whitening won’t help because the teeth will be whiter but still be uneven in color. I know she isn’t a dentist, but is really quite bright and doesn’t usually say something she isn’t knowledgeable in. Is it possible my friend is right and my dentist is wrong?

Donna M.- Mississippi

Donna,

I’m am really frustrated to say that your friend knows more than your dentist. When you have uneven tooth color, using teeth whitening just makes the difference in color more obvious.  The white spots on her teeth are decalcification that occured while wearing her braces. This happens when there are some oral hygiene issues.

There are a couple of ways to treat this. There is something called Tooth Mousse that was specifically designed for this issue. Another possible treatment is tooth bonding. The softened and decalcified enamel will be removed and then replaced with composite materials that will be bonded onto her teeth. It goes without saying that I would go to a different dentist to do this procedure.

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