Why did my daughter's tooth turn grey after her dentist appointment?

Hey I have a daughter (5) who has had a cavity on the front of her front tooth since she was 2. It\'s just a tiny little hole. We went to the dentist when she was 2 but they wanted to put a silver cap on it so I never got it done. I\'ve taken good care of it to make sure it didn\'t get worse and it hasn\'t. She went to the dentist last week and when she came out she had this sticky stuff all over her teeth(yellowish in color) the next morning her tooth was completely grey! It was perfectly white before her apt! They also said they needed to Cap it. Did they do something to make it decay more for the procedure they want to do?? I don\'t know what was on her teeth but it wasn\'t the stuff to prevent further cavities because they said they\'d do that at the next apt.

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Answer: tooth turning grey

By Sarah h
Dental Professional

The size of the hole on the surface of your daughters tooth, cannot determine the extent of decay within the tooth. Many times a pinhole cavity can blow out inside the tooth resulting in irreversible pulpitis. Even though you have been taking care of the outside of the tooth, the decay process was continuing inside her tooth. Dental caries will continue to destroy healthy tooth structure until it reaches the nerve. When this happens the nerve tissue dies and along with the blood vessels becomes dark and decomposes. This may or may not be the case with your daughter. A simple periapical radiograph will determine the amount of decay present and what if any restoration is needed. If the necrotic tissue is not removed, by performing a root canal, the tooth can become grey in color. Most likely this is what is happening to your daughter and it was just coincidence that it began changing after the application of fluoride varnish (yellow sticky material). It is highly unlikely, impossible even, that the dentist or staff was able to promote a rapid decay process overnight.

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