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Original poster

ds Adult teeth have come through discoloured. Any advice welcomed!

44 replies

zippyswife · 09/02/2020 11:05

Ds’ adult teeth are coming through discoloured/mottled yellowy and marked. I’m so upset for him (though obviously haven’t drawn attention to it as I don’t want him aware of it) I’ve asked the dentist what I can do about this but it was hard discussing it as ds was there. The dentist couldn’t suggest a solution. Ds takes such good care of his teeth. I’m gutted for him. Is there anything I can do? His diet is good. Dentist suggests it could be hereditary or due to infant illness.

OP posts:
Scootingthebreeze · 09/02/2020 11:09

There's some great Facebook pages for this. Type enamel hypoplasia in the FB search bar and they'll come up. Sorry that his teeth have been affected but there are things that can be done

KatyCarrCan · 09/02/2020 11:09

I don't have any solutions. We had this with DS' baby teeth and were given various reasons from different dentists including childhood virus; breastfeeding, etc.

My mum told me I had it with my own baby teeth and at that point the dentist blamed smoking (my mum didn't smoke) or the fact I was premature. It did make me wonder if there was a genetic/hereditary cause but I find dentists impossible to engage in those sort of conversations.

I was very frustrated that they didn't seem to know and didn't seem to care. I'm interested to see if anyone has any solutions for you.

Original poster
zippyswife · 09/02/2020 11:29

Did he have it with his adult teeth @KatyCarrCan? Ds has it with two molars ans I hadn’t thought anything of it but his front bottom ones have come through mottled and his top ones are coming through similarly. He had a bad fall on his first day at school which knocked his teeth badly so I’ve always been slightly worried about how his adult teeth would come through.
I feel so guilty (not that I have done anything wrong as far as I’m aware) but I just feel so dreadful.
I googled enamel hypoplasia and although his adult teeth aren’t fully through it appears that hopefully his case is mild but I feel anxious about the others yet to come through as he’s only started losing teeth.
I know in the grand scheme of things this isnt a serious health issue but he wears glasses too, struggles are school and life’s not as breezy for him as it is his siblings. Just gutted.

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Skyejuly · 09/02/2020 11:33

My daughters are like this :(

PrincessHoneysuckle · 09/02/2020 11:53

Ds has the very front top one coming through like this.Can it be fixed?

wonderrotunda · 09/02/2020 12:05

Not quite the same thing but my adult front tooth came through with a dip in the enamel...like a yellow hollow. I spent my teenage years thinking I could brush it away (no one told me) so I over brushed that tooth, (the gum is a tiny bit damaged from that) but when I got older I asked the dentist and he built it up using a white enamel filling (had to rough the surface a bit first) I imagine that it could be covered like that? Bear in mind the surface needs to be really smooth or it will get stained and will probably need to be re done periodically Good luck

wonderrotunda · 09/02/2020 12:06

Oh and I think in some cases it’s linked to a particular antibiotic taken in childhood

SurfnTerfFantasticmissfoxy · 09/02/2020 12:08

DS11 has this on his two front teeth. I've got it on my back molars and the dentist thinks it's probably hereditary. Apparently the only option is veneers when his teeth stop growing

Getoffmylilo · 09/02/2020 12:11

A friend of mine had the version of this caused by antibiotics - I think tetracylcine (?) caused his .

MissPepper8 · 09/02/2020 12:16

Mine came through like this after I had childhood cancer.

Whitening products can clear them up a bit for a period of time (to be honest I'm not very active using them because I just accept it now). Dental hygienist once every few month helps too.

Not a lot you can do sadly.

RupertBear15 · 09/02/2020 12:21

I have this with my son. He’s 14 now and has about 4 or 5 teeth which are yellow and sadly rather unsightly. He takes good care of them and the dentist has assured me that they are not weaker than the others. I have had 2 dentists discuss the issue with me. My new dentist is absolutely wonderful and is regarded as one of the best in my county. Both he and my previous dentist have told me the same thing.

In my case anyway, my son’s enamel hypoplasia is likely caused by birth stress. I had a traumatic and difficult birth with my DS - emergency C section after an obstructed labour. My dentist said that what happens in the baby goes into protective mode and effectively withdraws all resources to essential functions. I can’t remember all the complexities but he said but the effect of this is that it leads to metabolic changes in the formation of the enamel leading to defects. It says this on the internet as well. It is certainly the case with my son due to his stressful birth but perhaps there could be other causes I am unaware of.

I have two other children and neither of my girls have this issue as their births, although not easy were less traumatic. My dentist says that once my DS is 16-17 we can have them whitened and he can top it up after that every 3 years. My son is happy with that and although it’s not the best, at least his here with me as it was very difficult for both of us and we are lucky to be here! I hope that helps.

DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 09/02/2020 12:23

Tetracycline staining is more dark. And it's very unlikely your DS would have had tetracycline staining as it's been banned for use in children for this reason for years.

It sounds like either hypoplasia or it could be fluorosis.

There's no real point finding the cause, it could be anything, it could be genetic, could be a virus, could be smoking, premature etc. There are hundreds of things that could cause it. No one really ever knows the cause of someones hypoplasia and it doesn't really change the fact they have hypoplasia

When he's older there are things that can be done, white fillings or veneers. There's a few other techniques as well. But normally we would wait till someone is 18 before doing anything cosmetic as a child's mouth changes so much, their gumlines change etc. You want to wait until it's all settled before doing cosmetic work as it would have to be redone frequently in a child.

Bonkersblond · 09/02/2020 12:27

DS has this in 2 top front adult teeth, enamel hypoplasia, if your dentist is NHS they won’t want to do anything it, not yet anyway. DS became more reluctant to smile and was being teased at school for ‘dirty teeth’ mentioned to our NHS dentist, the condition had knocked his confidence and we were immediately referred. He’s had composite veneers on NHS, which is the white filing type stuff they paint on, about 3 years ago and still look great, this will eventually wear off and he could have proper veneers at about 18 but we’ve had another dentists opinion and because his teeth are still quite strong and only discoloured he will have composite veneers redone every time he needs. The NHS will do at a push as we found out, had they not, I think privately each tooth is about £120, had I of known this at the time I would have got them done instead of being told there was nothing they can do by NHS. Don’t be fobbed off, kids can be cruel. If you pm me I will dig out his before and after pics. X

Original poster
zippyswife · 09/02/2020 12:35

Really appreciate all the advice. He is a quiet shy boy who lacks confidence now (only 7!) and I just worry what this will do to his self esteem in the future. The two back molars are very obvious brown mottled. The front adult teeth appear to be coming through with a dirty appearance. Though as I say yes only got his bottom front adult teeth through and the top front ones are starting to come through now.
I’m pleased to hear there are solutions even if they sound drastic and many years off.

OP posts:
Bonkersblond · 09/02/2020 12:41

‘zippyswife’ just to say composite veneers are a completely painless solution which takes about 20/30 mins, the worst part is the plastic thing used to keep the mouth open.

Original poster
zippyswife · 09/02/2020 12:44

Thank you @Bonkersblond. What age can the composite veneers be done. It’s very reassuring to hear.

OP posts:
AJPTaylor · 09/02/2020 12:48

2 of my school friends had it ( I am 50). I think it was an unknown side effect of possibly an antibiotic. Both had veneers done at 16.

Bonkersblond · 09/02/2020 12:51

DS was 12, but had I known how easy the procedure was I’d have paid to have it done earlier x

KatyCarrCan · 09/02/2020 13:07

zippy he's had real problems with his molars. His diet is good yet his molars are awful. He's had to have special coatings applied. His adult teeth (that are coming through) aren't as bad as his baby teeth were but they aren't white.

AnnaMariaDreams · 09/02/2020 13:15

No one knows the reason, it could be any number of things.
Molar- incisor hypomineralisation is on the increase. It could be that? How many adult teeth are through?

www.nlg.nhs.uk/content/uploads/2014/08/IFP-0814.pdf

I would be asking for a referral to the paediatric department of a large teaching hospital or paying privately to see a specialist in paediatric dentistry.

x2boys · 09/02/2020 13:16

My son has an inherited condition called Ameleogenisis Imperfecta which makes his teeth weak and prone to decay i think it's something to do with lack of enamel it's mainly affected his back teeth .

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 09/02/2020 13:36

Someone mentioned antibiotics. We were warned that dd may have dodgy teeth as quite alarge percentage of prem babies do who have antibiotics so early in life.
Not that that's any help to you.
I would see another dentist. I'm sure something could be done, even if it's some kind of coating.

KatyCarrCan · 09/02/2020 13:42

x2boys how was your DS diagnosed?

x2boys · 09/02/2020 14:14

His Dentist suspected he had it due to the shape of his teeth and referred him to Manchester Dental Hospital ( we are in Greater Manchester) and as soon as he was the consultant there she diagnosed him and they have done some working building up his back teeth

KatyCarrCan · 09/02/2020 14:33

Thanks, that's interesting. DS' consultant pooh-poohed our suggestion that there could be any underlying issues with his molars even though his own dentists had said there was an issue with his front teeth. Maybe we should ask for a second opinion from another consultant.