Products for lightening teeth are appearing on the market with ever-increasing frequency. Heavy advertising, coupled with heightened public awareness and expectations of an aesthetically pleasing smile, have resulted in increased patient demand for treatment to improve all types of tooth discoloration. Although it is the role of the dental profession to provide the services demanded by the consumer, it is also our duty to be discerning and to re-assess continually the techniques we use, for both efficacy and safety. To do this, long-term follow up of clinical techniques is essential. This paper contains the clinical results of teeth treated over 4.5 years using the hydrochloric acid/pumice microabrasion technique to remove enamel opacities and pigmentation. The subject under discussion is that of enamel discoloration: intrinsic staining with its origins in dentine, such as that caused by the ingestion of tetracycline antibiotics during odontogenesis, is not amenable to this form of surface treatment.