White spots on daughter's front teeth

My daughter recently got her adult front teeth through and I’ve noticed there are some white spots in the middle of the teeth. A bit of googling revealed this is not uncommon and could be demineralisation of the tooth surface (loss of calcium) . Causes can be too much fluoride, illness, medication or acid erosion.

Anyone else had this? Wondering if the enamel repair toothpastes will improve it. Also seen there is a chewing gum – Trident xtra care that claims to remineralise teeth.

I’ve got them, and in 30, ao no they don’t go away. Apparently calpol was blamed.

Ignore it and she won’t notice it’s there, if you make a big deal of it then she’ll pick up on that.

Other causes can be high Fluoride or calcium, it can cause long term damage. Better off seeing a dentist to check

I’ve got them, and in 30, ao no they don’t go away. Apparently calpol was blamed.

Ignore it and she won’t notice it’s there, if you make a big deal of it then she’ll pick up on that.

Thanks, do you need to take any extra precautions with what you eat – acidic foods etc? I’m assuming they will be more susceptible to cavities if the enamel is damaged?

Other causes can be high Fluoride or calcium, it can cause long term damage. Better off seeing a dentist to check

I read about the high fluoride – seems strange as one of the treatments to try and remineralise teeth with white spots is for the dentist to apply very high concentration fluoride gel.

Common and not normally anything to worry about. They often fade with time. Unless the enamel is pitted or cavitated it’s unlikely there’ll be any long term problem. Toothpaste/chewing gum will not be any help.

Often caused by excess fluoride (using adult toothpaste as a child for example, or living somewhere like Hartlepool where there is loads of Fluoride naturally in the water) or illness/medication at the time the tooth was forming (around birth).

IAAD

Nope, they’ve never given me any trouble and I eat all sorts of crap.

Fluoride is in effect a catalyst for forming ennamel, it helps the tiny concentration of calcium in saliva to bond to the teeth which is shy its important to brush before bed as it works best overnight when its not being erroded off by everyday eating/drinking.

Check with the dentist but I’d not worry about it.

I read about the high fluoride – seems strange as one of the treatments to try and remineralise teeth with white spots is for the dentist to apply very high concentration fluoride gel.

That would be where the white marks indicate early decay which could be treated by high concentration fluoride gel. Stages of decay: white mark>brown mark>hole.
Different from what you are describing which is a developmental defect.

Isn’t it a case of how the body handles fluoride and caclium and at what stage of development it happens. Dentist is easy enought and free enough to give better advice than i.

Common and not normally anything to worry about. They often fade with time. Unless the enamel is pitted or cavitated it’s unlikely there’ll be any long term problem. Toothpaste/chewing gum will not be any help.

Often caused by excess fluoride (using adult toothpaste as a child for example, or living somewhere like Hartlepool where there is loads of Fluoride naturally in the water) or illness/medication at the time the tooth was forming (around birth).

IAAD

Good to know, thanks.

Will also get the dentist to give them the once over.

Isn’t it a case of how the body handles fluoride and caclium and at what stage of development it happens.

Often caused by excess fluoride … or illness/medication at the time the tooth was forming (around birth).

The visible bits of adult front teeth are forming at or just before birth. Similar to the first adult molar teeth.

The visible bits of adult front teeth are forming at or just before birth. Similar to the first adult molar teeth.

If this is the case doesn’t that rule out excess fluoride causing the white spots as she wasn’t brushing her teeth then?

now that’s a blast from the past! when i was about 12, everyone had them. i certainly did.

they faded at some point, never had any dental issues since (am 36 now)

🙂

If this is the case doesn’t that rule out excess fluoride causing the white spots as she wasn’t brushing her teeth then?

No, fluoride has a topical effect (from being in contact with the teeth as in from toothpaste, gels, etc) and a systemic effect when the teeth are forming (from fluoride that you ingest and absorb from toothpaste swallowed and, mainly, from water with fluoride in).
The marks you describe (and this thread is useless without pics 😉 ) if caused by fluoride, will be from the systemic effect of fluoride when the teeth were developing. Excess fluoride at that time (around birth) could be from your daughter swallowing adult, fluoridated toothpaste when you live in a fluoridated water area. Unless she was born with teeth (which is possible but unusual and makes breastfeeding interesting apparently) then this is unlikely 🙂

Excess topical fluoride wouldn’t mark the teeth once they’ve appeared in the mouth.

HTH

I’m 28, and I still have them. Was told by a dentist when younger that they were due to a calcium deficiency. I also had a filling when I was 9 or 10 that I was told was due to the same thing. No problems since though.

I have a white spot too, but my dentist said I probably shouldn’t worry about it.

Does it look like this?

Looks a bit like the “mild” pic below whitish slightly chalky patches but more in the middle of the tooth rather than at the end shown in the pic.

Also her front teeth can be a bit sensitive with cold drinks. Bottom adult teeth are fine.

Ok. So unlikely to be caused by fluoride but fluoride in a gel or toothpaste will probably help the sensitivity.

TBH it is just speculation as to the cause and doesn’t really matter but if the marks are at the same point in the tooth then it suggests it is something that interfered with the enamel development at a particular point in time – a chronological developmental defect – often illness or even a difficult birth. I’m assuming the side incisor teeth aren’t in yet but when they do appear you might see similar marks but nearer the tip because those will be developing just after the front ones. Either way, nothing to worry about, nothing to be done at this stage, they’ll probably fade but can be covered in the future if they’re an issue cosmetically.

You do need to see a dentist as they vary in severity, some superficial and some affecting a greater thickness of enamel. Depending on whether the hardness of the enamel surface has been affected (hypo mineralisation), some treatment may be advisable. It can also affect the first adult molar teeth which erupt at about the same time, as a general rule the glossier the surface the less problem it is, if it looks ‘chalky’ or starts to look more yellow, the more it will benefit from intervention. If it affects the molars as well, intervention is much more likely to be needed.
The pictures above show the range of appearances characterised as ‘fluorosis’ though they may not in fact be anything to do with fluoride per se. The cells responsible for laying down enamel as some of the most specialised in your entire body (they are basically making glass), and therefore the most susceptible to minor fluctuations in your homeostasis, anything from minor rises in temperature, infections etc can trigger problems with the process. Think formula one cars, bloody fast, but also very prone to breaking down.
The white lesions basically represent a disruption in the crystalline structure of the enamel prisms (think of it as a very carefully tiled floor, where some one plonked some crazy paving in the middle), which affects it’s optical properties – not a problem, but if severe enough leaves gaps to allow in staining ( changes colour), and if badly enough disrupted makes it weak (chalky appearance). At the (less common, but not unusual), end of the spectrum it leaves the teeth more suspectible to wear, acid damage and sensitivity, but if identified early it’s possible to maximise the potential to harden up (some of the mineral is acquired once the tooth has erupted and under matured enamel has the potential to harden up a bit more once erupted), the outer layer using something like GC MI paste plus( your dentist should be able to supply this if needed, it’s not available OTC). It’s also possible to use some techniques to make the white spots (or yellow / brown patches), less obvious or to seal the surface with resin inflitrations such as ICON from DMG.
In the worse affected cases white fillings may be needed to repair of masks these areas, but very rarely are things like veneers needed now, certainly not in children.
All of this makes it more important to make sure your children has a healthy (tooth healthy as well as generally so), diet, and you can get more info either googling ‘oral health toolkit’ from the uk department of health, or have a look at http://www.sign.ac.uk or smiles4life. Acid erosion is atleast if not more damaging than just sugar in these cases….

Yup I’m and dentist, and to reinforce the stereotype i ride, you guessed it, Santa Cruz…….

Hmmm another dentist here, Paul and dms have it pretty much covered.

Dentist will check it out although urgent appt not required.

Used to ride a Santa Cruz blur, had two of them actually, the original ones but have moved on to a canyon full Susser and a Planet X Dirty Harry 29er along with various road and cx bikes!

Only Santa Cruz skateboards and been surfing in Santa Cruz here I’m afraid!

As above but also worth mentioning that spots in the middle of the face of the tooth can be caused by trauma to the front baby teeth around age two causing the root of the baby tooth to affect the developing adult tooth “germ”

Either way, almost certainly nothing to get too excited or worried about at this stage.

It’s like being in Waitrose with all these dentists.

Used to referred to as ‘Tippex Teeth’ when I was a kid

Oh yes I miss waitrose now I’ve moved back to ni

Thank you dentists of STW for taking the time to explain this in more detail.

Will take her to the dentist next week. (Or just hang out in Waitrose)

I just googled the pH of apple juice she sometimes has and was surprised how acidic it is. I guess it would be wise to get her off that if the enamel is a bit weak.