It’s a well-known fact that the most notable side effect of taking tetracycline is an intense permanent staining of the teeth. Fortunately, KöR Whitening can help improve patients’ staining with our various products. When you have tetracycline patients who want a teeth whitening procedure performed with our products, it’s helpful to understand the chemical reactions at work.

That’s why we are happy to discuss 6 things to know before applying the KöR Whitening Ultra-T system to the teeth of a tetracycline patient.

“When you have tetracycline patients who want a teeth whitening procedure performed with our products, it’s helpful to understand the chemical reactions at work.”

1. Understand the goal of teeth whitening.

   What makes KöR Whitening so effective in general is that our system removes as many color molecules as possible, while also breaking apart chromophore bonds within any remaining color molecules. KöR Whitening penetrates deep into the tooth’s microstructure for a stronger result and longer-lasting whiteness.

2. Tetracycline stains are much more difficult.

   Whitening teeth that are stained as a result of taking tetracycline is always a very challenging process. The simple fact is that tetracycline color molecules cannot be completely removed from teeth. Thus, the amount of whitening that can be achieved when using typical whitening systems is limited. KöR Whitening overcomes these limitations by strictly adhering to what the science dictates for successful whitening of these cases.  

3. Tetracycline chromophore bonds are very strong.

   Imagine two really strong magnets pulling toward each other. Tetracycline chromophore bonds are like that. Even if you can get them to separate, they naturally want to re-connect. This leads to potential regression after treatment.The KöR tetracycline stain protocol and products provide methods to prevent this regression.

4. Results are harder to predict.

   No matter how much teeth appear to be stained from tetracycline, you never know just how strong the chromophore bonds are until treatment is performed. That makes it difficult to know exactly how much whitening and regression there will be. More maintenance will be required by the tetracycline stained patient to maintain the whitening results.

5. Be honest with your patients.

   Make sure to sit down with any tetracycline patients before a KöR Whitening treatment is performed. Understand what results are “acceptable” for them, explain the difficulties of whitening tetracycline-stained teeth, and of course, set realistic expectations before any treatment is applied.

6. Know what to expect with the KöR Ultra-T System.

   If all instructions are followed properly, this teeth whitening system should produce a significant improvement to the patient’s current situation. While it is impossible to completely predict results with tetracycline patients, KöR Whitening will provide significantly greater whitening than any other whitening system is capable of.

Tetracycline staining is a difficult challenge that really had no good solution prior to KöR Whitening. With our systems, significant improvements can be achieved with proper treatment and maintenance.