Have Post-Orthodontic White Spots? Here's How It Can be Treated

Having straighter teeth can bring you more confidence and more opportunities in your life, but one undiscussed aspect of straightening your teeth is white spot lesions. Most often occurring after the removal of braces, white spot lesions are light, white spots on the surface of the tooth that are the result of demineralization caused by the wear down of the enamel. If you get white spots on your teeth are removing your braces, then there are several ways it can be treated.

How Can White Spot Lesions Be Treated?

Tooth discoloration can be a tedious and often unappealing aspect of your smile, but luckily, today's field can provide numerous methods for treating white spot lesions. These lesions are often caused by demineralization or mineral loss where the tooth's enamel thins and wears down over time. This mineral loss is often caused by the buildup of acid erosion from bacteria and sugars present in our mouths. When bacteria and sugars are present for a long period, people with braces can often struggle with brushing and flossing with their braces on. Due to the difficulties it presents, white spot lesions are often a permanent part of a person's smile when left untreated.

However, through treatment, white spot lesions can be minimized in their appearance and easily corrected through various treatments. For at-home treatments, using fluoride toothpaste can help strengthen the enamel and even repair the enamel over time due to the process called fluoridation. Some teeth whitening products can temporarily alter your smile's appearance and help reduce the visual effects of white spot lesions. At the dentist, there are more advanced treatments patients with white spot lesions can get for their smile, including:

• Fluoride Remineralization Treatments: Fluoride treatments act as a faster way to deliver fluoride to the enamel, using a varnish that coats the teeth topically and is considered a popular anti-cavity treatment for children.
• In-Office Teeth Whitening: Professional teeth whitening sessions can help reduce the appearance of white spot lesions more effectively by whitening the surface of the enamel to match the white spot lesions present on the teeth.
• Composite Resin Bonding: To correct the issue, composite resin can be used to fill in any noticeable gaps in the enamel and act as a protective coating.
• Microabrasion Treatment: Microabrasion can even out the appearance of the enamel and remove the white spot lesion, and this procedure can also be combined with others to correct its appearance.
• Dental Veneers: Dental veneers can also be used if the white spot lesions are severe enough. Veneers are durable, thin pieces of tooth-shaped porcelain that are attached to the front enamel of the teeth to even out the smile's appearance.

All of these methods can be easily combined to fight off the appearance of white spot lesions and improve one's oral health. However, white spot lesions can go away on their own over time through consistent brushing and flossing with fluoride toothpaste and healthy dieting. For more information about how white spots can be treated, visiting your dentist is the best resource out there to learn more.