Tooth whitening products in children

Adult teeth are not as white as baby teeth. This is because the top layer which is the enamel of baby teeth is thinner and whiter than that of adult teeth. There are numerous tooth whitening products in the market. The question is if it is okay to use in children.

Pediatric dentists  usually do not recommend whitening your child’s adult teeth until all the baby teeth have fallen out. You can hold off decisions about bleaching your child’s teeth until the child is  about 14 years old. Around this time,  all the baby teeth would have fallen out and the adult teeth will have fully erupted.

Darkening of the teeth can result from the following :

• colas
• dark juices
• popsicle
• coffee

A single dark tooth can be the result of injury to that tooth, cavities or tooth decay.

Children need to visit the pediatric dentist every 6 months. You can talk about whitening with the dentist.

NOTE

If you use at home bleaching products, you have to carefully follow the instructions on the product. It is also important to pay attention to the side effects as well as stop bleaching if the teeth becomes sensitive or the gums become irritated.

If you decide to bleach your child’s  teeth, you have to remember that once all the adult teeth come in, the color wont be as noticeable. The contrast with the white color is gone and the adult teeth wont look as yellow.

You need to let your child’s dentist examine an injured tooth that has turned dark or teeth with white spots and decide if an  in-office bleaching would work better than at-home products.
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