Fix White Spot Lesions on Tooth Surface

ICON resin infiltration is a restorative treatment that fixes white spots that appear on the surfaces of the teeth. White-spot lesions can appear following an orthodontic treatment, or they can appear because of demineralized enamel that is caused by poor oral hygiene, trauma to the teeth, or infection in the teeth while they are developing in the jaw. The resin infiltration treatment is minimally invasive and can be used to repair white spots and restore the appearance of the teeth.

White-spot lesions appear because of porosities beneath the dental enamel, which are caused by an imbalance in the mineralization of enamel that is, in turn, caused by the bacteria, acids, and plaque that accumulate on the teeth because of inadequate oral hygiene. When the enamel has excessive mineralization at its outer surface, this decreases access to calcium in the deeper layers of the enamel, creating a lesion, or porous area, beneath the dental enamel. When light reflects off the teeth, it reflects differently in these porous areas, creating the appearance of bright white spots on the teeth. Enamel defects can be caused by infection in the primary teeth, trauma to the teeth, and tooth decay.

The resin infiltration procedure to fix white-spot lesions can be completed in a single dental visit in under an hour, with no anesthesia and no drilling. The first step in a resin infiltration treatment is to clean the surfaces of the teeth with a sterile abrasive. Then, the lesions are cleaned with acid, which removes the outermost layer of enamel and allows calcium to enter the teeth and rebalance demineralized areas. The appearance of the teeth improves immediately, and any surfaces that remain discolored are removed in microscopic increments until the teeth appear evenly hued. Once the surfaces of the teeth have been treated, they are dried with an ethanol drying agent, and, once they are fully dried, the resin infiltrant material is applied. As the infiltrant is absorbed by the capillaries in the dental tissue, which takes about three minutes, it seals porous areas and protects them from further demineralization. Once it has settled, your dentist will remove excess resin material with handheld instruments like floss and small brushes and will then cure the tooth with ultraviolet light. Another layer of material is added and sculpted around the tooth and then UV cured again. If necessary, a third layer of resin is applied and cured; once the tooth has been restored to the proper appearance, the dentist will make any final adjustments with dental polishing tools, resulting in an evenly colored, luminous tooth. The entire resin infiltration procedure takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and is minimally invasive and affordable. While other cosmetic dental restoration procedures, like veneers, require the patient to have fully developed teeth, resin infiltration treatment can be performed on younger patients whose permanent teeth are still new, and it can even be performed on primary teeth when white-spot lesions are an aesthetic concern.

ICON resin infiltration is a long-term treatment with results that last at least two years and often last for six years or more. While resin infiltration treatment has been proven to fade the appearance of white-spot lesions and dental discoloration due to enamel defects, there is no guarantee that the spot will disappear completely. In most cases, however, resin infiltration treatment delivers significant cosmetic benefits in a single, minimally invasive outpatient visit.

How Does Resin Infiltration Work in Children?