After bleaching some patches of fluorosis are much brighter.Will this settle and if so how long might it take?

Question

I did it 48h ago with 6% hydrogen peroxide from my dentist. I was shocked at first as the fluorosis was much more obvious and previously invisible areas had become evident. Things have settled a bit but the white patches are still much more prominent than before. Would really appreciate any advice.

Answer 1

Are you using the nighttime bleaching? If so, you have a few options. Sometimes, while whitening, we get into what's called the "splotchy stage" where some areas of enamel will whiten faster than others. These could be the previously invisible areas you were speaking of. What one does in this case is continue to whiten until the rest of the enamel catches up. For fluorosis spots, while these wont disappear, bleaching can make the background of the tooth whiter and may almost match the spots up to the point where they are less noticeable.
Microabrasion or macroabrasion are the techniques used originally to remove those white fluorosis spots. They remove the enamel and then replace it with composite, a tooth colored restoration, to match the rest of the tooth. However, I recommend before going to this drastic step (removal of tooth structure is permanent) that you continue your whitening treatments overnight or as recommended by your dentist and see if there is any improvement, but I would give it a couple weeks at least. Speak with your dentist as well, tell him/her what you are noticing and see what he/she says. If you bleach first and it doesn't work, at least the background of the teeth will be whiter so that the dentist can then select the best composite color to place on your teeth. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

THIS IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO YOURSELF.
YOUR DENTIST HAS TO DRILL OUT THE WHITE PATCHES AND PLACE TOOTH-COLORED FILLINGS IN THEIR PLACE.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO ANY FURTHER TOOTH WHITENING.