Treatment of White, Yellow Spots & Cavities using GC Tooth Mousse

Treatment of White, Yellow and Brown Spots & Cavities using Tooth Mousse.

There is little doubt that most people would love to own bright and beautiful teeth. A beautiful smile adds to our personality, and teeth are the most important part of an attractive smile. Unfortunately, sometimes, our teeth are affected by certain types of disfigurement such as cavities, chipping, and spotting. In this blog, we will see how we can reduce to a great extent or even prevent altogether, spots on the teeth using tooth mousse.

White and Colored Spots on Teeth

The outer surface of the tooth is called the enamel, and has a lustrous, transparent appearance. Sometimes white to yellow spots or patches develop on the enamel surface. This can be quite disfiguring, leading to loss of confidence. Women and men are both susceptible to these kind of spots on teeth.

Some causes of such discoloration are:

1. Excessive presence of fluoride in drinking water during the tooth formation

2. Intake of medicines such as tetracycline during pregnancy.

3. Exanthematous fever such as measles during the formation of tooth.

4. Localized disturbance in teeth mineralization during formative stage

5. Tooth decay in the initial stages of the patient

6. Braces and orthodontic treatments

7. Whitening treatments done earlier

All these can be reasons for creating structural deformity in the enamel, resulting in a spotted appearance. These causes can interfere with the mineralization process of the enamel, creating a low mineralized zone at any depth on the enamel.

Treatment of Tooth Spots

Conventionally, these spots are treated by laminating the tooth surface with ceramic or composite veneer. A more practical and long-lasting approach however, would be to make these less mineralized zones more mineralized, thereby correcting disfigurement and strengthening the tooth. Changing your toothpaste can be an option, provided the new toothpaste supports the remineralization process. But this method might not be too effective or permanent in treating all kinds of tooth spots.

A more effective way of treatment of such spots is to make use of a good tooth mousse that helps in remineralization process through overnight application.

Tooth Mousse

GC tooth mousse is a type of tooth creme that is manufactured by a company called GC Corporation and is derived from the milk protein Casein. It contains CPP-ACP: Casein Phosphopeptide — Amorphous Calcium Phosphate, that delivers bio-available calcium and phosphate ions into the less mineralized zones of teeth. It is shown to assist with the repair of white and yellow to brown spots as well as the discoloration of teeth.

“GC Tooth mousse was developed in Melbourne, by Prof Eric Reynolds at the Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne. It contains the major milk protein, Casein, which helps stabilize calcium and phosphate into a bio-available form, and they are the building blocks of our teeth” says Dr Priya Lal from Australia

How to use Tooth Mousse to treat spots

The less mineralized zone on teeth do not need to be on the surface of the enamel. Even if it is on the surface of the teeth, it can be clogged by external debris. So, in order to open the pores to penetrate deeper, the surface of the enamel has to be etched using 37% phosphoric acid, cleaned with running water and air dried. This creates a white frosty porous surface. The tooth mousse is then generously applied onto the teeth surface and a rubber cup is rotated over it with the help of a micromotor-driven hand-piece. This procedure can be repeated 2 or 3 times depending on the severity of the case. The immediate result will be quite evident (Watch Video).

The patient is asked to apply the mousse on the tooth every night after brushing the teeth. It is preferable that the patient rubs the tooth mousse against the tooth using finger pressure. It can be left overnight without washing. During this time, the pores get closed and the amount of minerals driven in get reduced. For this reason, a follow up visit to the dentist after two weeks is needed to re-open the pores by acid etching.

Time taken for remineralization of using tooth mousse

Normally tooth remineralization is a slow process. However, this can be converted into a quick process using tooth mousse application. Success rates can be as high when the tooth mousse is involved.

Who cannot use Tooth Mousse?

Tooth Mousse cannot be used by the below category of patients:

· People who are allergic to milk and hence the milk protein Casein

· Those who are allergic to hydroxybenzoates.

· Strict vegetarians/ vegans who believe in a plant-based diet

(*source: Link)

Dental decay is often a result of food getting attached to teeth. Bacteria in the mouth acts on this food to produce acids. This acid removes minerals from the tooth to produce dental decay. Hence dental decay is primarily due to removal of minerals from the tooth. Tooth mousse reverses this process through remineralization.

We must make it a practice to brush our teeth at night just before bed and rub tooth mousse onto the teeth using fingers and leave it there till the morning. This will have to be continued till the incidence of dental decay is considerably reduced.

FAQ

1) Is tooth mousse safe for children?

Tooth mousse is taken in the size of a pea and applied on the tooth surface. It’s safe for users even if swallowed, unless and until any ingredient proves to be allergic to the user.

2) Is it safe during pregnancy?

Regular use of tooth mousse during pregnancy is safe and helps to maintain constant calcium and phosphate level in saliva, which in turn protect the tooth.

3) Does it revert the cavity caused by dental decay?

It does not restore the tooth to the original form. Hence if cavities have formed before use, they need to be filled.

4) Does it reverse the white opaque lesion which represents beginning of dental decay?

The initial removal of minerals during the disease process of dental decay results in a white opaque appearance of the enamel which can be reversed by the use of tooth mousse.

5) Is the change in yellow and white spots with the usage of tooth mousse a permanent one?

The change in discoloration achieved will be permanent unless affected by external stains caused by drinking coffee, tea, turmeric, grapes and Nicotine.

*Contributed by Dr Feminath Gopinathan.