At Guildford Smiles Dentistry, our dentists understand that children and young teens may wonder if teeth whitening might be an option for them. However, our Surrey BC dentists discourage teeth whitening for this age group.
Our younger patients and their parents sometimes wonder if their smiles could be brighter and healthier. It’s not unusual for kids to see the effects of teeth whitening on their parent's teeth and want the same - or for parents to be concerned if they think that their child’s teeth are yellow or discoloured.
However, our Surrey dentists recommend that children and teens hold off on teeth whitening until they reach adulthood, for two reasons.
Adult Teeth Are Naturally Darker
Inside each tooth, a yellowish substance called dentin lies just under the enamel. Because baby teeth naturally have less dentin in them, they have a much whiter appearance than newly erupted adult teeth.
Parents, rest assured that it’s absolutely normal for your child’s adult teeth to have a darker or more yellowish appearance than the white teeth you were used to seeing in their smiling baby pictures.
The darker colour of your child's adult teeth will be much less noticeable once the last of their baby teeth have naturally been replaced by their permanent adult teeth.
Whitening Solutions May Not Be Safe for Young Smiles
The number one priority for our dentists is to keep your child’s smile healthy. While teeth whitening solutions are considered safe for adults to use, we strongly discourage the use of these solutions on the developing smiles of young people.
A lack of scientific data means that we just don't know for certain how whitening solutions could affect your child's developing smile. This is why our dentists at Guildford Smiles Dentistry will only recommend teeth whitening to brighten grown-up smiles.