At Ladner Village Dental, our dentists understand that children and young teens - and their parents - wonder if teeth whitening may be an option for young people. However, our Delta dentists advise against teeth whitening for this age group.
Sometimes, kids - and their parents - wonder if their smiles could be brighter or healthier. It’s not unusual for our dentists to get questions from concerned parents if they think their child’s teeth appear discoloured or yellow. But our Delta dentists recommend that youth forgo teeth whitening, for two reasons.
Adults Have Naturally Darker Teeth
A yellowish substance called dentin lives just beneath the enamel, inside each tooth. Baby teeth have a much whiter appearance than newly erupted adult teeth because baby teeth naturally have less dentin in them.
Parents: rest assured that it’s normal for your child’s adult teeth to have a more yellow or darker appearance than those white chompers that erupted as their baby teeth came in. This will be much less noticeable when the last of your child’s baby teeth have fallen out, to be replaced by their permanent adult teeth, as the contrast won’t be quite so apparent.
Whitening Solutions May Not Be Ideal for Young Smiles
The number one priority of all of our dentists is to keep your child’s smile healthy. While adults can safely use teeth whitening solutions to brighten their smiles, children’s and young teen’s smiles are still developing.
Not enough scientific data is available for us to be confident in making an informed decision about whether whitening solutions are safe. That’s why our dentists at Ladner Village Dental will only recommend teeth whitening for adults hoping to brighten their smile.