From Volume 51, Issue 1, January 2024 | Pages 48-51
This article describes the management of a patient who experienced an unexpected and unattractive ‘greening’ of an anterior tooth following a course of bleaching. It examines the reasons for this phenomenon and describes a method for disguising the discolouration in a minimally invasive manner that can be carried out in general practice.
CPD/Clinical Relevance: It is important that multiple post-operative complications are managed in a minimally invasive way whenever possible.
A 30-year-old medically fit and well male patient attended the Restorative Department at King's College Hospital, London, following a referral from his general dental practitioner. The patient reported a history of trauma to the upper right central and lateral incisors and the upper left central incisor more than 5 years previously. According to the patient, his dental practitioner had repaired the broken upper right central and lateral incisors with a ‘post and some composite’, but this resulted in gradual discolouration and then development of intermittent symptoms from those teeth. The main issue for the patient was the grey colour and mis-matched shape of the upper right central incisor (Figure 1).
The grey discolouration of the upper right central and lateral incisors along with some poorly contoured composite restorations were noted.
Chronological hypoplasia was noted from UR3 to UL3 and from LR3 to LL3 (Figure 2). On direct questioning the patient confirmed that he had suffered from several childhood illnesses, which would be consistent with that dental appearance.
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