I told my dentist that I wanted to have Zoom whitening done so that all of my teeth would be whiter and match. I’ve had these little white spots all over for as long as I can remember and I thought bleaching would make them less noticeable. Well, I had the Zoom whitening done yesterday and the results are horrible. It brightened the already white spots even more! I was trying to hide them, not highlight them. What went wrong?

-Cassie in Arkansas

Dear Cassie,

Sorry to hear your experience wasn’t what you’d hoped it would be. Those white spots you described sound like fluorosis. It’s a condition that’s caused by ingesting excessive amounts of fluoride while the teeth are still forming. Zoom whitening, or any other bleaching product, will brighten any natural tooth structure. For most people, this is the desired result. However, those with fluorosis require a different form of treatment.

It sounds like your dentist didn’t understand why you wanted it done. Talk to him and let him know what you were hoping to achieve. There are a handful of cosmetic  treatments that can hide the spots effectively and, together, you can figure out which one is right for you. Most of the time, this involves using tooth-colored composite material or porcelain veneers. Your treatment may not have been in vain, though. Since there’s no way to brighten the color of  restorative materials after they’ve been placed, now was the best time to bleach, if you were hoping for an all-over brighter smile and not just to hide the spots.

Additionally, it will take a few days after bleaching for the color of your teeth to stabilize. As the final color sets in, you may find that you notice the spots a little less. If you’re content with their appearance in about a week, there’s no need to have anything more done. Whether you decide to go forward with more treatment or not, it’s still a good idea to talk with your dentist anyway and let him know what happened.