While most stains are on the outside of your teeth, one can occasionally be seen as a dark area coming from deep inside the tooth causing to appear discolored or dark greyish. When this develops it is usually because blood, pulp remnants or other liquids have leaked into the inside of a tooth following a root canal procedure.

Internal Bleaching is a technique used to whiten the appearance of teeth and can only be performed after a successful root canal therapy.

• How does Internal Bleaching Work?

Internal, or non-vital, bleaching is used to lighten a darkly discolored tooth that has had root canal therapy. A chemical oxidizing agent is placed within the coronal portion of a tooth to remove tooth discoloration. It may be performed in the dental office using a procedure known as "chair-side bleach." In this procedure, bleach crystals are placed inside the tooth, left for a period of time, and then removed before leaving the office. This may be done once or several times, depending upon the severity of discoloration of the tooth.

Another method is known as "walking bleach." In this procedure, bleach crystals are placed inside the tooth, left for several days and then the patient returns to the dental office to have the bleach crystals removed. Again, this procedure may be performed several times.