Birmingham, AL Tetracycline Stains

Proper treatment of tetracycline stains requires the artistic eye and skillful hand of an experienced cosmetic dentist. Nationally renowned cosmetic dentist Dr. Thomas Dudney uses porcelain veneers to create beautiful new smiles for patients with tetracycline stains.

Can Tetracycline Stains Be Bleached?

Tetracycline staining refers to the discoloration that results when the antibiotic settles into the dentin and enamel of a forming tooth. Whether brown or gray, light or dark, uniform or banded in color, this type of stain is very stubborn and does not respond well to whitening treatment. In these cases, porcelain veneers are the treatment of choice for total smile restoration.

Treatment With Porcelain Veneers

At Alabaster Aesthetic Dentistry, our porcelain veneers are meticulously designed and crafted to give you a beautiful smile that leaves no indication of the discoloration beneath. Dr. Dudney is experienced in striking the delicate balance needed to create veneers that are as translucent as natural teeth while also completely masking the gray or brown staining behind them.

Dentists who have not undergone extensive study in cosmetic dentistry struggle to perform this task successfully. Their results usually fall on one end of the spectrum or the other: a smile that is either too translucent so that the dark gray/brown shows through, or opaque and fake-looking. Some dentists may even avoid veneers altogether and treat the stained teeth with crowns instead.

But porcelain veneers are a far more conservative treatment than crowns. Whereas a tooth that is crowned must first be ground down, a tooth that is treated with a veneer is left intact, with the exception of the removal of just a small margin of the surface of the tooth’s enamel. For this reason, Dr. Dudney chooses to treat his patients’ tetracycline stains with porcelain veneers.

The photo on the left shows the beautiful, natural-looking smile he created for one of his patients. Notice how brightly she smiles now that her tetracycline stains are behind her.

To see more smile transformations by Dr. Dudney, visit our Smile Gallery. For more information about our process for treatment with porcelain veneers, see our Porcelain Veneers page.

Experienced Cosmetic Dentistry

Dr. Dudney has been in practice for over 40 years. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry and a Fellow of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. Known across the country for his expertise in cosmetic dentistry, he has directed multiple hands-on training programs for cosmetic dentists and has been invited to speak at major dental conventions.

Your New Smile

The first step toward your new smile is a consultation with Dr. Dudney. To schedule, give us a call at (205) 663-6545, or request an appointment online and we’ll call you. We look forward to seeing your transformation!