Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Help for drug-darkened smiles 

By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, January 10, 2005

Help for drug-darkened smiles 

09:55 AM CST on Monday, January 10, 2005

While Brian Ettleman has never had a cavity, you'd seldom see him really smile and show his healthy teeth. Brian's teeth were stained by the antibiotic tetracycline he received as a young child.

Tetracycline causes an internal stain. The tooth enamel and dentin absorb the antibiotic during childhood. In the 1950s, tooth staining reached near epidemic levels because tetracycline was so widely prescribed.

Tray bleaching prescribed by a dentist can lighten tetracycline stains, but the process usually takes months.

"The patient has to persevere," explained dentist Dr. Dale Greer. "A tetracycline stain patient is going to take 30 to 60 sessions and a session can be up to 30 minutes."

Today, Ettleman's teeth have gone from a dark gray to a shade of white. "In the beginning, the progress was slow," he said. "But now, I can look at them and say, 'Wow, they really look white!'"

Ex-Marine Les Pritchett also has gray-colored stains, and he is getting results after weeks of whitening his teeth.

"I feel really good about it," Pritchett said. "I like to smile, so I feel a little bit better about my smile now."

If patients develop some sensitivity to the bleaching treatment, Greer suggests they "just wait a day or two and then start up again."

Other antibiotics, even some of the new ones, may also stain teeth. So if you're a parent with a small child, discuss the side effect of tooth staining at the time antibiotics are prescribed.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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