Songpa-gu Garak-dong Dental Clinic - White Spots on Teeth: Should They Be Treated?

Hello, I’m Shin Seung-hwan, the chief director of Yonsei Youline Dental Clinic, Songpa-gu Garak-dong Branch, located near Exit 4 of Garak Market Station in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu.

Today, I’d like to talk about white spots or stains on teeth.

In fact, quite a few people contact us about white spots that appear on their teeth.

Sometimes these spots suddenly appear one day,

and other times they have been there since childhood, leaving people wondering what they are

and whether treatment is necessary.

White spots that appear on the surface of teeth are mostly

demineralized areas, meaning traces left behind when some of the mineral components that make up the tooth have been lost.

When demineralization occurs, it means the tooth surface has become weakened,

and this stage is often classified as early-stage tooth decay.

Cavities do not look black from the beginning.

At first, they appear like white spots,

then over time they progress to brown, and after that to a dark black color.

So you can understand a white spot as the early stage of tooth decay.

Then, if you see a white spot, does it always need treatment?

Not necessarily.

Here is something people often hear.

You may have heard that brushing your teeth right after drinking carbonated beverages or eating sour foods is not good for your teeth.

Carbonated or acidic foods temporarily demineralize the tooth surface, leaving it slightly roughened and weakened.

If you brush immediately with toothpaste and apply strong pressure, the abrasive ingredients may wear away the weakened surface even more.

So, right after eating acidic foods,

rather than brushing immediately,

it helps to rinse with water once and then brush after about 30 minutes to protect your teeth.

Our saliva has a remineralization function that replenishes the minerals that have been lost.

In other words, if the stage is early demineralization, there is also a chance that the tooth can become hard again over time.

So for small, shallow white spots, instead of treating them right away,

it is common to keep up good brushing habits and use toothpaste with enhanced remineralizing ingredients while monitoring the condition.

In such cases, the white spot may actually fade or stop progressing.

However, if the white spot is in a highly visible area such as the front teeth and is large enough to be aesthetically bothersome, treatment may be performed by slightly removing the affected area and filling it with resin.

However, with resin treatment, over time there may be slight discoloration at the boundary between the treated area and the natural tooth,

and after several years it may need to be refinished or replaced.

So rather than rushing into treatment simply because it looks a little unpleasant,

it is better to fully understand the pros and cons before deciding.

If the white demineralized area broadly covers the entire tooth surface,

partial resin treatment is difficult, so full-surface aesthetic treatments such as laminate veneers may be considered.

However, because such treatments require more tooth reduction,

they are chosen carefully when truly necessary.

To summarize,

small white spots can be monitored with proper care and remineralization,

while larger or more noticeable spots may call for aesthetic treatment.

Treatment is not always necessary,

and the approach varies depending on the current condition, location, and size.

If you see a white spot on a tooth,

rather than asking, “Should it be treated right away?”

the most important thing is to first receive an accurate diagnosis of what stage it is at.

This has been Yonsei Youline Dental Clinic in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu.