Why has the dentist left blue marks on my teeth?

August 21, 2008 4:46 AM

I've just had 3 white enamel fillings in the bottom-left corner of my mouth. Looking in the mirror, I now have a small bluish-gray mark at the nearest 'peak' of each molar. Should I be worried?

The only reference to 'blue marks' I can find online is here, where it's stated that blue marks can be put on teeth (and then removed!) in order to file down the high points of newly fitted crowns.

But I don't have any crowns, and I don't know what to make of these blemishes, given that I paid (considerably) more to get white enamel instead of metal fillings.

What are these marks? Did my dentist not finish the job properly? Should I be worried?

posted by Kirn to health & fitness (3 comments total)

Before I read the more inside part, I thought it might be the dye stuff to level the tooth. By "just had" what are we talking here? Days or hours? If it's just the bite paper, it should go away when you brush your teeth. If it doesn't go away, it's something more sinister and you should go back to the dentist.
posted by phunniemee at 4:55 AM on August 21, 2008

Whenever I have my white enamel fillings done at the dentist, the last thing they do is ask me to "bite down and grind" my newly gooed teeth on a blue piece of paper, sort of like tracing paper, and it apparently marks the places that are too "high" or don't quite fit. Then they drill down the tooth's new filling a bit and buff it until I bite comfortably and all of my teeth "fit" together.

Maybe your dentist just rubbed the blue film paper on your teeth without asking you to grind it, and they finished the job themselves. Did you have a lot of Novocaine? Sometimes they are hesitant to ask me to bite down at the end for fear that I'll chomp my tongue off, since they've numbed me up so much I can't feel anything.

I wouldn't be worried if it's the same blue color, especially since you noted it's on the "peaks" which is where some of the leftover color ends up. After a couple of thorough brushings, you should be okay. But call your dentist if it lasts longer than a couple of days.
posted by potatopeople at 5:01 AM on August 21, 2008

Thanks very much for your answers.

Phunniemee, "just had" is a couple of hours - my mouth is still numb, and I haven't brushed yet.

Potatopeople, I did get asked to bite down several times, so I guess that's what it must be - it didn't occur to me that the marks could be impermanent. (This dentist has never explained any aspect of what he's doing, so I didn't actually know what was happening with the biting.) I'll leave it a couple of days and a couple of brushings, but I feel a lot more reassured now - thanks guys/girls.
posted by Kirn at 5:15 AM on August 21, 2008