Dentist in Richmond Virginia Teeth Whitening in Children

Teeth whitening in Children

Many a young teenager has contemplated getting their teeth

whitened, probably in an attempt to ape a famous celebrity or to look cool

amongst their peers.

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So, how should parents go about handling the subject of teeth whitening for their children?

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First of all, let’s examine some of the causes of discolored teeth that

commonly affect children.

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* A child may suffer a dental injury in an accident or sport

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* The tooth could become infected and get discolored

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* A child who drinks water with high fluorine levels will likely suffer from

flourosis, a condition where the teeth turn dark yellow or brown.

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* A child who is being treated with the antibiotic called tetracycline may

suffer teeth discoloration.

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When you consider the key causes of teeth discoloration in children

compared to those in adults, you realize that the causes are not out of poor lifestyle choices, but usually a

medical reason.

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However innocent children may be in this regard, teeth whitening is not

generally recommended for children under the age of 16 for a couple of

good reasons:

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* Enlarged Nerves-In children under the age of 16, the nerve center of the tooth is enlarged so there is a higher

than average probability of acute teeth sensitivity from any teeth whitening

treatment.

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Sensitivity is a normal effect of whitening treatment and is only made

worse when the enlarged nerve endings are so vulnerable to irritation.

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* Primary and Permanent Teeth-Most children under 16 have a mixture of both primary teeth and permanent

teeth.

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These two sets of teeth have different shades of color because the thickness

of the tooth enamel is different in each set.

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Therefore, if a whitening treatment is applied, the child will have two

different shades of teeth.

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In addition, as the primary teeth are still being replaced with permanent

teeth, one cannot tell what the overall shade of white the child’s teeth will be

in the future.

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For these reasons, it is best to wait till the child is over 16 years and has a full

set of adult, permanent teeth.

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