Bellevue Teeth Whitening doctors

A: The recommendation for a trauma, discolored tooth is to wait if not fractured!. Trauma is not fun. Try to be patient, wait if you can and return to the root canal specialist in a couple of weeks. Discoloration can be internal bleeding of the tooth and it may go away or get worse. You can try whitening with a custom tray and see if that helps in the interim. If you need a root canal, you can do internal whitening. If your tooth did not break, just leave it-even if it has cracks. Good luck!

A: Helping Children Who Could Benefit from Whitening

Usually children are content with their smile and don't even think about whitening.  However, I have had some special situations which have called for action.  One child in particular was being teased becasue she had brown spots on her new front teeth.  (Age 6)  I suggested trying Crest Whitening Strips from the drug store, cut in half so they just fit over  the 2 front teeth. The parents did  this until all the Crest Whitening Strips were used.  The results were great becasue Crest Whitening seems to be very effective in taking out brown discoloration on the younger generation.  My biggest issue is when parents are worried about color differences between the baby teeth and permanent teeth and discuss it in front of the child.  Baby teeth are often whiter than the new permanent teeth resulting in  a color difference. I always ask if the child is conscience about their smile.  Sometimes the parents cause the child to be upset and concerned about the color difference.  As a routine, I like chldren to wait to whiten until after having orthodontic treatement or all of their permanent teeth have errupted-I explain this to all parents.  As with all treatment, there are exceptions and it is up to the dentist to discuss what they recommend.

A: Whitening children's teeth is considered safe

The only way to prove the safety of teeth whitening is to demonstrate test patients for research studies.  However, getting pregnant women or young children to participate is both a legal and ethical challenge (ie, what if something coincidentally went wrong with a baby or child, would the whitening be blamed?).

The reality is, bleaching is safe.  The youngest I have ever done was on my own children at age 10, as most kids younger than that were simply not interested.  Most start to be concerned about their overall appearance at around age 12, so that is when most requests start.

The best methods include dentist input, as most over the counter/internet products are unregulated and unmonitored.  To be safe, dental supervision is suggested.