What are the Little White Spots on My Teeth?

Everyone wants that perfect smile, which means having perfectly straight teeth that are pearly white.

Wait a second.

You look in your mouth and realize that although your teeth are fairly white and are well taken care of, there are some lighter white spots that cover the surface.

This doesn't make sense.

You brush your teeth after each meal and have never had a cavity, so why do you have imperfections on your teeth? It just doesn't make sense!

What you are seeing on your teeth is something that is commonly known as Hypoplasia.

This actually isn't caused by your dental hygiene at all, so before you start panicking, you have to realize that it isn't your fault.

This is actually caused during the development of your teeth. For some reason, many people's teeth do not develop quite like they should, usually from "demineralization". This causes parts of the teeth to become a light white color, or even a different color because they are thinner or weaker in certain areas.

Unfortunately, this is unavoidable during development because it is not seen until after your teeth have erupted from your gums. Sometimes the spots can be due to Fluorosis. This is caused by too much fluoride during the tooth development process and is also unavoidable.

It will be impossible to tell if this is actually the reason for it though, as the signs are exactly the same as all of the other reasons that a person may have white spots on their teeth.

Luckily, you may not have to do anything to get rid of these little white spots. Often, they will go away on their own over time.

They are almost always not a serious threat and do not cause any damage to your mouth if they are only minor problems.

However, if you have larger spots you will want to visit our dental office. On occasion, these spots can be weak points on your teeth that can easily become damaged, as they do not have the usual protection that a normal tooth would have.

We can successfully treat and remove the white spots from your teeth.

Legacy Family Dental uses a new remineralization procedure to remove white spots from our patient's teeth. The procedure is noninvasive, permanent and it does not require any numbing.

If you feel that the white spots on your teeth are not fading away and are becoming worse, give our dental office a call today!