Can Teeth Bleaching Change Your Life?

According to Van B. Haywood, DMD, a pioneer in the field, "Bleaching . . . can change [a person?s] entire personality and self-concept. From 10-year-old children who are being teased about the discolorations on their teeth at school, to smokers who have stopped smoking and want to erase the years of staining, to older persons who look young except for their discolored teeth, this . . . technique has been a rewarding service."

Teeth bleaching (performed in a dentist?s office) even works on gray stains from the antibiotic tetracy-cline used during the time teeth are forming. Recently, with a coauthor, Dr. Haywood published a case study on a patient who had tetracycline staining (Quintessence International, February 2003). With another coauthor, Dr. Haywood had published another case study of tetracycline-stained teeth in the October 2001 issue of Contemporary Esthetics and Restorative Practice.