tooth discoloration

Everyone hates teeth discoloration, which is why whitening strips are so popular. But what do you do when the discoloration appears in the form of white spots on your teeth? Although these spots are primarily a cosmetic concern, they can affect oral health and should be treated.

Causes

White discoloration on teeth, more common yet less discussed, are due to the demineralization and loss of enamel on the tooth. Common causes of demineralization include poor brushing habits and poor diet choices. White spots (or hypoplasia) can form in children if there is disruption in enamel formation, or if you use too much fluoride toothpaste.
When these unsightly white spots appear in adults, they are often the sign of tooth decay and plaque formation. When plaque builds up, bacteria forms that leads to demineralization, the first step in tooth decay. This can be common when braces are taken off, as plaque often builds in hard-to-reach places underneath braces (white spots are often more common in orthodontic patients).

Preventing White Discoloration

While treatments for these white spots are available (we’ll discuss these later), prevention is also possible. Here are a few easy steps you can take to prevent white spots from appearing on your teeth!

1. Brushing well! Nothing prevents demineralization and plaque buildup better than brushing thoroughly two times a day.
2. Flossing every night. Flossing can also help drastically reduce plaque buildup and therefore reduce those unappealing white spots!
3. Less soda, more water.  Soda causes acidic buildup, which demineralizes your teeth faster. Drink more water to help prevent this.
4. Eat healthy, snack less. Choosing foods that contain less sugar (and therefore less demineralizing bacteria) that break down calcium in the teeth will help prevent decalcification and the formation of white spots. Consider mineral and calcium rich foods, such as milk and cheese. Also, try to eat foods high in magnesium, as this mineral helps your body absorb and retain calcium.

Treating White Spots

Especially in orthodontic cases, white spots that form may need to be treated, despite preventive measures that were taken. Here are some of the best treatments for white spots on your teeth.

1. Bleaching your teeth. Dentists can professionally assess the damage and bleach your teeth to make these spots less visible, as well as seal enamel in order to strengthen your teeth again. At Water Tower Dental Care, we use Zoom! Teeth Whitening to bleach teeth in under an hour!
2. Composite bonding. In this procedure, resin is molded onto your teeth, helping to conceal white spots and giving you a straighter, whiter smile.
3. Air or microabrasion.  Consider techniques in which your dentist can remove spots by scuffing the area with abrasive material. These techniques should only be used for small to medium white spots, as too much abrasion can further damage your teeth.
4. Topical Remineralization Therapy. These prescription toothpaste and gel treatments help remineralize your teeth faster by treating the microscopic holes causing the white spots. The photo above and to the right shows a patient of ours before and after enamel remineralization therapy.

In all, white spots are undesirable to most. While prevention is ideal, treatment is often necessary. Luckily, Water Tower Dental Care can help with this white discoloration treatment to get your teeth sparkling white again!

The last thing you want is yellow teeth after years of wearing braces. But unfortunately, it’s a very common occurrence. If you don’t take care of your mouth while you’re wearing braces, you might be surprised to see white squares where your braces were on yellow-stained teeth after your dentist removes them. Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid this experience. Here are some reasons why people get yellow teeth after braces and how to prevent this from happening. We’ll also talk about how you can fix stained teeth after braces.

Brush Properly With A Toothbrush Made for Braces

With all the brackets and wires crowding your teeth, it’s easy for plaque to build up in hard-to-reach places. That’s why it’s especially important for you to brush properly when you have braces. When plaque is left to sit on your teeth, your teeth start to decay, causing them to turn yellow.
People with braces should ask their dentist about electric toothbrushes that are specifically designed for mouths with braces. These brushes will have bristles that are made to remove plaque around brackets and get through wires.

Floss Every Day, Getting Those Hard-to-Reach Spots

Having braces can feel like a great excuse to not floss, since it’s harder to reach the spaces between your teeth. But with more bacteria buildup, it’s extremely important to floss with braces. Just like with brushing, flossing every day will help keep your teeth from decaying and turning yellow.
Superfloss is the best type of floss for people with braces. It’s made up of three types of floss: soft spongy floss, a stiffened-end threader, and regular floss. The stiffened-end threader makes it easier to get between your braces, and the large spongy floss helps you clean around your brackets and wires.

Avoid Tooth-Staining Food

Some food and drinks contain colored properties that can stick to your teeth’s enamel and change their beautiful white color to yellow. These include soda and “sports drinks”, hard and gummy candy, red wine, and coffee. It’s best to avoid these teeth-staining foods and drinks as often as possible, or slowly consume them with glass of water. When you do eat or drink them, wash out your mouth and brush afterwards to keep them from staining your teeth.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking is a big culprit of yellowing teeth, along with other horrible diseases and issues. There’s really no good reason to continue smoking. One of the many effects of smoking is yellowing teeth, caused by the nicotine and tar in tobacco. This can occur not just from smoking, but also from chewing tobacco. Tobacco use is one thing you should quit for good - not just when you have braces.

Use Invisalign Instead of Traditional Braces

If you haven’t had braces yet, you should consider using Invisalign instead of traditional braces. Since Invisalign braces are removable, it’s much easier to keep your braces and teeth clean, reducing the chance that your teeth will turn yellow. Brushing and flossing will be exactly the same as when you didn’t have braces!

Receive Teeth Whitening Treatment After Braces

If your teeth begin yellowing while you have braces, you don’t have to say goodbye to your pearly whites for good. Ask your dentist about teeth whitening after braces! At Water Tower Dental Care, we use Zoom! Teeth Whitening to change the color of your teeth dramatically after just one visit. This leading teeth whitening system brightens up your smile up to 8 shades in about an hour. It’s as easy as that.
Don’t settle for a yellow smile. Contact us to learn more about whitening your teeth after braces! There’s no better place to bring back your beautiful smile than at Chicago’s top cosmetic dentistry.

You might be surprised that a dental office is writing about eating disorders. But eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa can devastate your teeth, gums and overall oral health. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), about 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder for a period of time in their lives in the US. That’s a lot of people suffering with a disorder that can seriously damage not only your teeth, but your entire life.
Dentists are often the first people to discover that a patient has an eating disorder because the signs are so obvious. We’re going to take a look at some of those signs today.

What are eating disorders?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, eating disorders are illnesses that cause extreme changes to your daily diet, such as eating very small amounts of food everyday or severe overeating. A person with an eating disorder may be able to alter their diet with small changes at first, but at some point the urge to eat less or more becomes uncontrollable.
Some of the most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating. Anorexia nervosa usually involves a severe and distorted fear of becoming fat or gaining weight. People with anorexia may not be fat at all, or may even be underweight. This fear can lead the person to undereat, exercise excessively, or purge after eating by forcing themselves to throw up or use laxatives, diuretics, or enemas.
Bulimia nervosa typically involves seemingly uncontrollable overeating (binging) followed by purging with self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or using laxatives, diuretics or enemas.
The American Dental Association notes that eating disorders are caused by various physical, emotional and social issues and focus on body image, food and weight, along with many other issues. Eating disorders are much more complicated than whether someone is overweight, underweight or anywhere in between.

What are some signs that an eating disorder is damaging your teeth?

Eating disorders can wreak havoc on your entire body, including your teeth. While it may be hard for parents to tell if their child has an eating disorder, it’s typically obvious to dentists after a certain period of time. Many of the dental issues that come along with eating disorders are caused by stomach acids damaging your teeth as a result of vomiting. But nutritional deficiencies caused by under eating are also terrible for your dental health.
Here are a few signs that an eating disorder is damaging your oral health and teeth:

• Xerostomia, or dry mouth symptom, caused by enlarged salivary glands
• Tooth decay and enamel erosion, especially in the inside of the upper front teeth
• Tooth sensitivity, thinning and chipping due to enamel erosion
• Tooth discoloration and/or change in the shape or size of your teeth
• Mouth sores that may bleed easily
• Bleeding gums
• Tender mouth and throat
• Dry, red and cracked lips

Treating eating disorders

Though your dentist may be able to temporarily improve the dental damage caused by eating disorders, there’s not much they can do to heal your teeth in the long run if the eating disorder continues. The best thing you can do is see an experienced and skilled therapist that specializes in eating disorders. Since eating disorders are complicated and vary from person to person, it’s very important that someone who suffers with an eating disorder speak with an expert as soon as possible.
To reduce the effects of purging on your teeth, don’t brush your teeth right after you vomit. The acids from your stomach erode your enamel, and brushing your teeth immediately afterwards can make enamel erosion even worse. Instead, immediately wash out your mouth with club soda, a sugar-free mouthwash, or, as a last resort, water. This will help neutralize the stomach acids. 30 minutes later, gently brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
If you think you might have an eating disorder, it’s important that you seek professional help as soon as possible before irreversible damage is done. Along with damaging your relationships, mental health, self-esteem, and physical body, eating disorders can also result in death.
Please don’t be afraid to visit Water Tower Dental Care or contact us if you’re worried about how your diet is affecting your teeth and oral health. We have seen many patients with eating disorders and would love to inspect your mouth to let you know how your teeth are doing.
We also work with a Behavioral Health Care Center in our office that specializes in eating disorders, called ASCENDchc. Together, we can put you on the path to a healthier life.

Sparkling white smiles are impressive - There’s no doubt about it. White teeth exude confidence, youth and healthiness, which is why so many people get their teeth whitened. But as the teeth whitening trend has picked up more and more steam, it’s important to ask yourself about the safety of teeth whitening treatments.

Many people avoid getting their teeth bleached because they worry that it will damage their enamel. Fortunately, as long as you follow your dentist’s directions and product labels, teeth whitening should not cause enamel loss or damage to your teeth. Here's what to look out for.

Enamel and Teeth Whitening

Nowadays, there are virtually limitless options when it comes to looking for teeth whitening kits and products online. You can find hundreds of products on Amazon alone. While this may sound like a good thing at first, some products out there aren’t ADA approved, and are made with dangerous ingredients that can damage your teeth and enamel.
It’s best to play it safe when it comes to whitening your teeth and consult a dentist. They will help you to choose a product that is safe for your specific smile and make sure that it works effectively. The best and safest way to whiten your teeth is to have a dentist do it for you. At Water Tower Dental Care in Chicago, we can dramatically whiten your teeth during one in-office treatment using Zoom! Whitening.

But even if you use dentist-approved products, they can still cause enamel loss and erosion. You have to make sure that you’re following your dentist’s directions and the product’s label while whitening your teeth. Over-whitening can lead to teeth trouble.
And remember, it’s normal to feel a little tooth sensitivity after your teeth whitening treatment. This sensitivity doesn’t mean you’ve damaged your enamel. Rather, it’s caused by the treatment opening the channels within your teeth, which allows bleach to permeate your teeth and whiten them from the inside out. This side effect is only temporary.

Who Shouldn’t Get Their Teeth Whitened?

Just because everyone can get their teeth whitened doesn’t mean they should. Teeth whitening treatments can damage teeth that have certain problems. You should speak to a dentist before bleaching your teeth if you have sensitive teeth, worn enamel or gum disease. There are also several dental issues that cause discoloration, but should be fixed by addressing the root of the problem rather than masked with teeth whitening treatments. These include root canal issues, tooth decay and abscessed teeth. Also, if you have exposed roots that are discolored, bleaching won’t be able to help much because they are more resistant to the treatment.

Teeth Whitening Results

Your teeth-bleaching results depend on the type of treatment used and your individual set of teeth. Some of our patients’ glistening results last for 6 months, while others’ can last for up to 10 years! Typically, your teeth will remain beautifully white between 6 months to 2 years. Then you’ll have to get them whitened again. As of right now, no teeth whitening solution is permanent. But hopefully, that will change one day!
Interested in learning more about teeth whitening? Reach out to us on Facebook! We would love to answer your questions directly and help you get the standout smile of your dreams.

A smile says a lot about you. A sparkling and straight grin will tell people that you take the time to take care of yourself and your teeth, and can give you a serious confidence boost. Unfortunately, not all of us have the teeth we wish we had. Genetics and accidents can leave us with chipped, stained or crooked teeth that we’re unhappy with. But there’s a solution. Dental veneers can cover up your dental imperfections in a quick and efficient way for years to come.

When you decide to transform your smile with dental veneers in our Chicago office, you’ll have two different options to choose from: minimal prep veneers and traditional porcelain veneers, which require some preparation. You may be wondering which is best for you. We’re here to help.

Traditional Porcelain Veneers vs. Minimal Prep Veneers

Though minimal prep and traditional veneers have similar results, they improve your teeth in different ways. Both solutions fix chipped, stained, oddly-shaped or awkwardly-spaced teeth. The more permanent veneers that require some preparation are typically best for teeth with severe problems, while minimal prep solutions are a great choice for those who have less time to spend in the dentist’s office.

Preparation for traditional porcelain veneers is all about making sure that the end result will be the teeth of your dreams. The entire preparation process typically takes a few weeks, and is pretty easy and straightforward.
At our dental offices in Chicago, the first step is giving your teeth a photo shoot. We take digital pictures of your teeth and alter them to show you how the veneers will change your smile for the better by hiding your teeth’s chips, stains and odd shaping. Next up is your trial smile! We create a temporary acrylic mold that looks exactly like your veneers will. You’ll wear these for a week to make sure you’re happy with your smile-to-be. If you’re satisfied with what you see, we’ll remove some of your teeth enamel and fix your veneers snugly onto your teeth. Take a look at our patients before and after they got their porcelain veneers here!

Minimal prep veneers can be designed and fixed over your teeth in just a couple of visits, since very little preparation is necessary. This means less time in the office and more time doing what you love most. Another major reason people choose minimal prep veneers over traditional porcelain ones is that your dentist doesn’t need to remove enamel. Instead, the paper-thin veneers are placed over your teeth, preserving your original smile underneath. Check out before and after pictures of our minimal prep veneer patients here!
Along with these differences in preparation and fixing, traditional veneers typically last years longer than minimal prep veneers and are more resistant to chipping and stains. Since preparation is longer, they also cost more than minimal prep veneers.

Which Treatment Should I Choose?

If you want to cover very crooked or severely stained teeth, traditional veneers are definitely the way to go. Since minimal prep veneers are paper thin, they don’t do the best job at covering up extremely noticeable problems. Traditional veneers are also guaranteed to last longer than and are much more resistant to damage. If, on the other hand, you only have small stains, minimal chips or slightly crowded teeth, minimal prep veneers might make more sense for you.
Whichever you choose, you’re sure to end up with a smile you’re proud of. Both treatments require artistry and skill, so make sure to look at before and after photos and reviews before choosing a dentist to design and place your veneers.
Our skilled cosmetic dentists at Water Tower Dental Care work with you to choose the shape, shade and style of your veneers to match your facial structure and desires. We then design and craft them with extreme detail to match your style and cover up the features you don’t want to see. When you combine our dentists’ artistry with the most advanced veneer material available, which we always use, you’re sure to leave our office with a smile that’s genuine, bright and brilliantly white.
The only way to truly find out which type of dental veneers are best for you is to come visit us at our office! We’ll set you on the right path to a beautiful smile with dental veneers. You can find us at the world-famous Water Tower Place Building on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, or feel free to give us a call at 312-787-2131.
 

When the word cosmetic is used, most people immediately think of vanity, and changing your appearance for aesthetic reasons, rather than functional ones. However, when it comes to cosmetic veneers, there are many helpful reasons why one would want them, other than cosmetic reasons. Here’s how cosmetic veneers can do more than give you a better-looking smile.

What Are Cosmetic Dental Veneers?

Veneers are paper-thin shells custom made to be placed over your teeth to improve their appearance. Depending on the condition of your teeth, this can add a variety of benefits.

What Do Cosmetic Dental Veneers Do?

They Can Close Spaces Between Teeth
When teeth are spaced too far apart, food and bacteria can easily stick between the teeth and wedge itself into the upper or lower gums, creating feeding areas and open pockets for bacteria to thrive. This is one of the main causes of gum disease. Cosmetic dental veneers can make it harder for food to find itself in between your teeth.
They Can Repair Chipped Teeth
While never an immediate problem, a chipped tooth can lead to more complicated issues. If the tooth chips and becomes jagged, it can cut the tongue or gums very easily. If the chip is more severe, it can make the tooth more prone to a fracture, which can seriously damage it. A chipped tooth is easily covered and protected with veneers.
They Can Protect from Discoloration
While this may sound like a cosmetic issue, often teeth are discolored because of a buildup of plaque or from the wearing away of enamel. Both reasons are bad for your teeth. Plaque buildup can lead to tooth decay and gum disease while loss of enamel can damage the under layer of a tooth known as dentin. Covering the teeth with veneers (after a thorough cleaning, of course) can help protect the teeth from these issues.
They Can Help with Minor Misalignment of Teeth
While extremely misaligned teeth may need braces, minimal misalignment with minor issues can often be fixed with veneers. When the dentist molds a custom set of veneers for your teeth, they can often work to correct the minor issues of misalignment. This is helpful because misalignment, even if minor, can often offer areas of exposed gums for food and bacteria to wedge themselves into, another cause of periodontal and gum disease.
All of these are helpful ways that veneers can help your teeth, not to mention they can change a faded smile into a fresh looking pearly whites.

How Do They Work?

Cosmetic dental veneers are actually quite simple and can be prepared and placed on a patient’s teeth in a matter of weeks. Digital photos are taken of the teeth and altered to show how veneers would look over them. A temporary acrylic mold is made to mimic the look of the veneers for the patient to wear. Once approved, a permanent version of the veneers are made from porcelain and placed on the patient’s teeth. Simple as that!
If you’re interested in porcelain cosmetic dental veneers for cosmetic or functional reasons, do not hesitate to contact Water Tower Dental. We would be happy to have you in for a consultation that can help you get on the path to a better smile.