what are tetracycline stains

[bobbie]

Hi

I have these brown looking lines across my teeth which I remember always having on my teeth and these lines really make teeth look brown and dirty, even though I clean my teeth three times a day.

My dentist says that I have tetracycline stains on my teeth and recommends that I have dental veneers placed on my teeth to cover the lines and make my teeth look more white. He says that teeth whitening will not work and veneers are my only solution.

I would like to know firstly, what are tetracycline stains? What caused these stains to appear on my teeth and what are my options for getting rid of these tetracycline staines? Is there a way of removing tetracycline staining without having dental veneers?

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

Tetracycline is a form of antibiotics that in the past had been given to adults and childrens for treatment of infections. Later it was discovered when in children teeth are at the developmental stage, this antibiotic causes a marked and specific form of permanent staining of the teeth, known as tetracycline staining. it only happens when the antibiotic is taken at the developmental stage of the tooth which is in childhood. These have various degrees and its intensity varies from case to case.

In minor forms, it may be possible to improve the aesthetics by longterm home whitening but in moderate to major forms of it the best solution a lot of times is veneers as whiteningg reaches its limits to improve on aesthetics and remove the stains.