What is Internal Bleaching for Teeth and When Do I Need It?

You've been testing over-the-counter teeth whiteners for months: toothpastes, mouthwashes, and those fancy at-home LED light whitening kits. It's obvious that your teeth have a significantly brighter sheen to them after a few months, except for that one tooth. That tooth is a sign that you may need internal bleaching for your teeth.

Chances are that your one tooth might be damaged on the inside. When a tooth becomes considerably infected or injured, the pulp on the inside dies, causing it to yellow from the inside out. No amount of professional or at-home teeth whitening can reverse this discoloration.

The solution is to visit your dentist and discuss what the real cause of the discoloration is. Internal bleaching along with a Root Canal Treatment may be recommended to you. You can expect to have a couple of office visits to complete the internal tooth whitening process. Prior to this procedure, one or two dental visits may be needed for the root canal treatment to be completed. But before you make the call, let's dive into the process of internal teeth bleaching and what you can expect from Downtown Dentist San Francisco.

What is Internal Teeth Bleaching for Teeth?

Internal bleaching is the process of whitening your tooth on the inside to get rid of the yellow discoloration you see on the outside. As mentioned, regular teeth whitening products or services can't remedy this because the problem lies literally inside your tooth.

After you book your initial consultation, we’ll schedule a root canal treatment if needed. We need to perform a root canal so we can remove and treat the dead pulp tissue and all the bacteria accumulated. Once that's finished, we can add a bleaching agent to the tooth's inside to get it back to its normal color. Then, we fix you with a filling to cover the access and complete the root canal and the teeth bleaching treatment.

Keep in mind that this process might go differently if the cause of your damaged tooth is from a prior root canal treatment. Every patient is different, but typically we can drill a small hole into the discolored tooth to dispense a small bleaching packet so it can work its magic from the inside out. At the end we place a white filling to cover the access and make your tooth intact.

Both procedures require a follow-up appointment within a few weeks to check on the whitening process. We may even recommend additional teeth whitening treatments or at-home whitening toothpaste or trays.

When Do I Need It?

You'll know you need internal bleaching for your teeth if one or more teeth remain yellow, despite your impeccable oral hygiene and your at home whitening efforts. This unyielding color change is a sign of an infected or dead tooth that needs dental treatment right away.

Does internal teeth bleaching hurt? Of course not! We follow the same protocols for a root canal treatment which means we'll apply an anesthetic cream for your comfort.

How Long Does Internal Tooth Bleaching Last?

You may need to come back after a few days for another round of bleaching if your tooth is severely discolored and has been for quite some time. And like external teeth whitening, it is not a definitive procedure. Your tooth may discolor in the future, but this process helps improve aesthetics for a very long time. Studies show that internal bleaching can last 5 to 7 years!

Do you have a discolored tooth that doesn't seem to change with your whitening treatments? You might need internal bleaching for your teeth! Call Downtown Dentist SF and ask us about your options.

dental, aesthetic dentistryStefka Petrova DDSMarch 4, 2021Downtown Dentist SFinternal bleaching, internal teeth bleaching, dark tooth, discolored tooth, dark front tooth, root canal treatment