White spots on the teeth are caused by a loss of calcium from the enamel layer on the tooth surface. The enamel becomes more porous and shows up as lighter than the surrounding area.
Until recently it was pretty much impossible to get rid of white spots on teeth. The only thing dentists could do was to cover them with veneers or cosmetic bonding, which could mean having to remove enamel. But now when you visit the cosmetic dentist in Harley Street, there’s a new technique on offer to get rid of your white spots, and it’s non-invasive and causes minimal pain. We’ve been offering it here at Harley Street Dental Clinic for a while and we and our patients are very happy with the results.
What are white spots?
White spots can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- Wearing braces
- Too much fluoride when the teeth are developing
- The acids from plaque drawing minerals out of the enamel
- Acid reflux
- Genetics
White spots have become increasingly common now that more people are opting for cosmetic bracket and wire braces that are fixed to the front of teeth. In about 46% of cases, when the braces come off, white spots show up where the brackets used to be. This is early decay, caused by acid from plaque that formed around and under the brackets.
Icon Smooth Surface works really well on white spots from fluorosis too.
What the cosmetic dentist in Harley Street can do
We now use a new system called Icon Smooth Surface, a treatment in three stages.
The surface is prepared using Icon Etch. This may need to be done two or three times if the white spots are very old. Once the etching is done, the white spot is dried out with an ethanol solution. Once that is done, the cosmetic dentist in Harley Street fills the porous enamel with an infiltrant, and finally the infiltrant is cured to harden it and then it is polished.
The whole treatment, all three stages of it, only take 15-20 minutes to complete, and it is easy to do shortly after your braces come off.