White Spots, Dry Mouth, and Advancing Technology

Why Does My Front Tooth Have A White Spot On It Or Why Do My Teeth Have White Spots?

That white spot you’re seeing is actually a porous area in the tooth where an imbalance of minerals has taken place. This can be from an injury or just the way the tooth developed. It can be from dental fluorosis, which is caused when the developing tooth gets too much fluoride. Or it can just be that something went wrong at the time the tooth was developing. White spots can also appear after orthodontics, in areas where you perhaps didn’t brush well around the brackets, and the accumulating plaque depleted the minerals.

What Can Be Done About It?

In the past, some of the only options were to whiten the teeth around the white spot to make it less noticeable or to cover it up with bonding, a veneer, or a crown all of which are invasive. The trouble is that the white porosity goes deeper than you realize. It’s not just on the surface. In my office, we can perform a non-invasive method requiring no anesthetic to diminish white spots on the teeth. We infiltrate the tooth with products that penetrate the porous white spot. This method allows me to preserve the healthy tooth structure — which is always our goal. It can usually be done in one visit and shouldn’t have to be repeated for several years, often not at all. (See Before and After photos on page 26 of this magazine).

OVer The Years, You’ve Adopted Many Dental Advancements. Can You Tell Us About A New Technology In The Dental World That Has You Excited?

The newest AI (artificial intelligence) software, which was cleared by the FDA in 2022, will allow dentists to detect cavities sooner and smaller than ever before. This is a real game-changer. The naked eye can only see so many shades of gray. But this AI can distinguish considerably more. In tests, it’s been able to identify 36% more cavities than the human eye reading an X-ray. And the sooner we can catch a cavity, the less aggressive we have to be to eliminate it. Again, our objective is to preserve healthy tooth structure. This technology isn’t restricted to dentistry. It’s being used in mammography and lung-nodule detection, to identify and treat cancers when they’re most treatable.

Why Am I Still Getting Cavities In My 60s?

Saliva in our mouths helps buffer acids. Unfortunately, medications you may be taking now can cause dry mouth which lowers the pH of the saliva, making it more acidic and therefore the teeth are more prone to cavities. You may be drinking things to relieve your dry mouth — such as flavored water or sparkling water — which are surprisingly acidic. Most things you add to water to make it taste better can make it acidic. While these are considerably better than soft drinks, if they have citric acid as one of the first ingredients, you’re better off drinking plain water instead. Also, if you have acid reflux or GERD (sleep apnea-related) that can contribute to tooth decay.