Tetracyclene Stains

Question:

What should I do if I have tetracyclene stained teeth?

—Kathryn in Ohio

Dear Kathryn,

When you have tetracyclene stains, you need porcelain veneers from an expert cosmetic dentist.

Actually, tetracyclene is a misspelling. Check our page about tetracycline stains for more information on this subject.

Tooth whitening isn't strong enough to help with this situation. The stains are much too dark and too embedded. And the dentist needs extensive experience and training in cosmetic dentistry, or the teeth will turn out opaque and pasty-looking, and they will tend to have a dark halo around the edges. So this is not a case where you want to go to a general dentist who merely claims to be a cosmetic dentist. You need the real deal.

—Dr. Hall

Here are photographs showing the beautiful results from an expert cosmetic dentist treating these difficult stains. This is work from Dr. Thomas Dudney, a cosmetic dentist/artist in Alabaster, Alabama. For more information about Dr. Dudney, please visit our page of Alabama cosmetic dentists.