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Archives for April 2021

Bleach Your Teeth With Clorox?

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My dentist has this Zoom machine for whitening teeth, but I want to whiten my teeth at home and wondered if it is possible to use Clorox Bleach to do it. I was considering rinsing my teeth with it. Will that work?

Dan

Dear Dan,

teeth bleaching trays

Teeth Bleaching Trays

That is interesting. While it could probably whiten your teeth, one thing you should be aware of is that Clorox is a base, such as lye. It’s a rather powerful base at that. This means it can burn living tissue. Believe it or not dentists use it in root canal treatments to do just that.

The active ingredient in household bleach is sodium hypochlorite. This can be used to clean out the organic debris left in a tooth canal all while simultaneously disinfecting it. Rinsing with it regularly inside your mouth is a bad idea because it can burn or damage your gums and inside of your cheeks.

If your goal is to bleach at home, talk to your dentist. There are professional teeth bleaching trays that will allow you to do this. Your dentist will custom-fit them to your bite and provide you with the professional strength whitening gel. You will have all the benefits of at-home whitening without the inherent danger that comes from using Clorox or another household bleach.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.

Full-Mouth Reconstruction Gone Bad

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I wanted to get a smile makeover and cover my six front teeth. My dentist said I would need to open my bite up more for that to work. In order to do that, he’d have to crown all of the teeth, top and bottom. My husband and I thought about this long and hard because we don’t have a ton of money but decided to go ahead with it. The whole thing has been a bit of a disaster. My mouth feels crooked now. The teeth on the right side of my mouth hit together way sooner than the teeth on the left side of my mouth. It’s causing a lot of pain. They look fine but it hurts to eat. Can the right side be ground down some to make them even? Or is there something else I can do?

Maggie

Dear Maggie,

woman holding her jaw in pain

When a dentist crowns all your teeth that is called a full-mouth reconstruction. This is one of the most advanced procedures a dentist can do. It is not taught in dental school. In order for a dentist to know how to do it well, they would need a significant amount of post-doctoral training. When it is done badly, it leads to significant problems, one of which you are experiencing.

He’s thrown off your bite completely. This can lead to not just the pain you are experiencing but can also throw you into a TMJ disorder situation. I don’t think just grinding down the side that is hitting first will solve your problem. First, you don’t know how far you’d have to grind. It could be you’d have to grind down too far. Second, knowing your dentist threw off this issue, there could be other things wrong with this case. What you need is someone with real expertise to look at this and evaluate the best way to fix it. With a dentist who has expertise in reconstructive dentistry on your side, you should be able to get a refund and then get this done properly.

So, how do you find this expert in full-mouth reconstructions? I would look for a dentist who has post-doctoral training in one of the following institutions:

  • Pankey Institute, located in Florida
  • Dawson Center for Advanced Dental Study, located in Florida
  • The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David P. Marion.