Your smile is oftentimes the first thing another person notices about you. It's also one of the first things you notice about yourself in the mirror. We are naturally drawn to the shape and shade of a smile, so we're quick to discern a piece of spinach stuck between two teeth or a few off-colored splotches on an otherwise pearly white smile. Minor dental imperfections are irritating because we constantly scrutinize them from every angle, wishing they would go away or undergo modern teeth whitening Cary, NC, treatments to achieve the perfect smile.

Finding Your Smile

A perfect smile usually takes at least a few visits to your Cary, NC, dentist. Coffee stains, misalignment, and tooth decay are easy fixes for a dentist and won't cost too much money, time, or stress. There are, however, a handful of dental dilemmas that are more difficult to solve. We've never had to turn down a patient because we couldn't transform their smile. Still, every case is different, meaning some will take a larger investment than others. One of those larger investment cases is tetracycline staining.

What is tetracycline staining?

Before the 1980s, doctors used to prescribe the antibiotic tetracycline to anyone and everyone — including pregnant women and young children. Tetracycline is a basic antibiotic that treats everything from urinary tract infections to acne. The medicine's effect was minor but evident: the babies in utero when their mother took tetracycline, and the children who took tetracycline at a young age developed grayish "bands" on their permanent teeth.

Can you remove tetracycline staining?

Many patients come into our office asking if our teeth whitening Cary, NC, treatments can help combat tetracycline staining. The short answer is no. Tetracycline staining is not like red wine or coffee stains. The greyish color is not on top of the tooth — it's a part of it. Although some companies promise real results, take it from us. There is no way for professional teeth whitening Raleigh systems to effectively remove tetracycline staining.

Veneers are the Solution

Luckily, there is another way to correct the discoloration caused by tetracycline: porcelain veneers. Veneers are always the best way to achieve a perfect smile. This is especially true if you're suffering from tetracycline staining. Instead of trying to remove the stains with a whitening solution, veneers cover them up completely.

Veneer Application Process

Your dentist, Cary, NC, places a very thin "veneer" of porcelain over the teeth, disguising imperfections and creating a more symmetrical smile. In the past, veneers required the dentist to shave down a small portion of the enamel so each veneer could fit over the natural tooth. Nowadays, many patients can get no-prep veneers. These veneers are so thin that they don't require drilling or shaving to fit and look natural.

Get the Smile You Want With Our Cary Dental Team

Veneers are more expensive than teeth whitening Cary, NC treatments, so this solution might not work for everyone. We typically like to give our patients a few different treatment options. However, with tetracycline staining, getting veneers is the only way to eliminate that gray discoloration. New dental technologies are always coming out that make cosmetic dentistry easier and more affordable.

In a few years, there may be a whitening system that does remove tetracycline stains. When that product arrives on the market, you know we'll be the first office to get it!