At Saba Road Dental Center, our dentists understand that children and young teens may wonder if teeth whitening might be an option for them. However, our Richmond BC dentists discourage teeth whitening for this age group.
Our younger patients and their parents sometimes wonder if their smiles could be healthier or brighter. 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 they child’s teeth are yellow or discoloured.
However, our Richmond BC dentists recommend that youth hold off on teeth whitening until they reach adulthood, for two reasons.
Adults Have Naturally Darker Teeth
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.
This difference in shade will be much less noticeable when the last of your child’s baby teeth have naturally been replaced by their permanent adult teeth, as all their teeth will be the same colour.
Whitening Solutions May Not Be Ideal for Young Smiles
For all of our dentists, the first priority is to keep your child’s smile healthy. While teeth whitening solutions are safe for adults to use, children’s and young teen’s smiles are still developing.
There’s a lack of scientific data available for us to be comfortable with making an informed verdict about whether whitening solutions are safe. This is why our dentists at Saba Road Dental Center will only recommend teeth whitening for adults aiming to brighten their smiles.
