Do you have a dark front tooth that you wish to lighten?
If you have a dark front tooth, internal tooth whitening is a procedure that may improve both your smile, and your confidence. Although this procedure may not be suitable for everyone, you should talk to your dentist to see how we can help.
Root canal treatment aims to remove and prevent pain, as well as treat infection. This is a predictable way for people to keep their own natural teeth for longer. In some cases when a tooth becomes infected it darkens, and this is particularly a problem for front teeth. Unfortunately, root canal treatment alone will often not improve the appearance of the tooth.
What are my treatment options?
In the past we might have considered placement of a ceramic veneer, or crown. This can be a good option to improve the colour and shape of a tooth, but both require the removal of tooth tissue, potentially weakening the tooth further. Also, sometimes the remaining tooth colour is so dark that it continues to shine through. This means a perfect colour match may not always be possible. In more severe cases we might have considered removal of the tooth and replacement with a dental implant. We now have a less invasive yet predictable way of improving that dark front tooth, internal tooth whitening.
Why do I have a dark front tooth?
The inside of a tooth, the dentine, has small canals (tubules) that take up the dark colour we often see in infected teeth. Often this is from when a tooth is bumped, blood leaking in like a bruise, or from broken down infected tissue when a tooth becomes infected. Internal tooth whitening can significantly improve the colour of dark root canal treated teeth. In this, tooth whitening gel is placed inside your tooth to directly treat the staining in the dentine tubules. Internal tooth whitening is a minimally invasive treatment that can lighten a tooth in just a few days!
How internal tooth whitening can help my tooth?
Internal tooth whitening requires a root canal treatment to be carried out to an excellent standard. Without this, we risk flaring up any possible remaining infection, causing pain. We also need a perfectly placed seal above the root canal treatment to ensure the tooth whitening gel stays within the tooth and doesn’t extend into the root. Once we are sure your tooth is well sealed, we can continue to lightening your dark tooth.
First, a scan of your mouth is taken, so we can make a custom designed tray to fit snugly in your mouth. An opening is left behind the tooth, so you can place the gel yourself. You then place the gel in the back of your tooth and wear the custom-made tray for 2-3 hours. You then clean and replace the gel regularly over the course of two to four days. Following the whitening you would return to us and the space at the back of the tooth filled with a white filling material.
I recently had the pleasure of treating someone who had unfortunately bumped their front tooth playing rugby when they were around 12 years old. They had noticed their tooth darker for most of their life but thought nothing of it. 30 years later they noticed a bubble above the tooth and so decided to attend their dentist. Their dentist advised they had an infection but to treat the tooth it required root canal treatment, for which they were referred to myself.
Following a successful root canal treatment, we agreed to undergo internal whitening, and we were both really pleased with the results! It took four days in total to get the desired level of whitening. At some point the procedure may require repeated to top up the shade, but for now the tooth is looking great and the patient is happy!
Why might other procedures not work?
Whilst internal whitening of your dark front tooth is not always the best treatment for everyone, discuss this with your dentist during your consultation to see if this might be suitable for you. Remember, only registered dental practitioners can legally prescribe tooth whitening products, and we would suggest avoiding whitening toothpastes or strips. Instead, if it is staining you would like removed you can always discuss this with your dentist or hygienist. However, many stain removing procedures will not target the internal staining that occurs when teeth become infected. Therefore, for many people, the only minimally-invasive option to lighten your dark front tooth is to target this staining directly, with internal tooth whitening.
If you would like to talk with one of our dentists about how we can lighten your smile by improving your dark front tooth, please use our contact form and send us a message. If you are a dentist and would like to refer one of your patients to our care for internal tooth whitening, please complete the referral form: Refer Your Patient | Vermilion Dental Specialists .
