With the passage of time, when the patients in the Region of Murcia who have suffered a blow or have had root canal treatment on one of their front teeth, visible when smiling, talking and living a normal life, it may happen that the tooth starts to change colour and take on a darker shade.
In order to resolve these issues, we must turn to a professional expert in endodontic treatments and with extensive use of bleaching agents such as carbamide peroxide, hydrogen peroxide or sodium perborate.
This can happen for different reasons:
- Silver amalgam restorations: These have been used intensively for years and, although their use is nowadays very limited and has been replaced by composites, we can still see that some patients have 'fillings' of these characteristics made.
When silver amalgam comes into contact with saliva, it generates corrosion products that are capable of staining both the tooth itself and the surrounding gum.
- Trauma: When hit, the pulp of the tooth becomes inflamed and can even die (necrosis), taking on a dark, greyish colour.
This also causes the tooth to darken, which can occur even months or years after the trauma, so it is a consequence that can manifest itself late.
- Endodontics: In the past, silver tips and cements containing silver were used to fill the tooth once the pulp had been removed.
These stain the tooth tissue, giving it a dark colour, which may make it necessary to remove them, or to restore the visible part of the tooth in an aesthetic way.
- Another problem that can cause the tooth to change colour is internal calcification of the tooth. In this case, instead of a dark grey colour, the tooth would appear increasingly yellow and opaque.
To solve these problems, there is a treatment called "internal whitening" which consists of introducing the dental whitener inside the pulp chamber of the tooth. To do this, it will be necessary to have endodontics done, as this will allow us to have a watertight compartment for the whitening agent to remain in the crown.
There are 2 types of internal bleaching:
- ThermocatalyticIt is carried out in the clinic. After the bleaching agent is applied, it is activated by heat.
- Outpatient or home-basedThe bleaching agent is applied inside the tooth and covered with a temporary filling. The patient can continue to lead a normal life while the whitening agent takes effect. Periodic check-ups will be carried out to monitor the degree of whitening, until once the optimum level of whitening has been reached, the whitening agent will be removed and the definitive filling will be placed.
For these reasons, if you notice that any of your teeth are changing colour, it is advisable that you visit your endodontist to see what the reason for this change is and to find the right solution: this way you will regain confidence in your smile and you will be able to continue to offer the best of yourself to the world.