This document provides methods and materials for delivering compounds to teeth and methods and materials for providing teeth with a whiter appearance. For example, methods and materials are provided for contacting teeth with one or more adhesive molecules (e.g., mussel adhesive polypeptides or polymer containing a plurality of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine residues) in combination with one or more fluorescence emitting polypeptides (e.g., a blue fluorescent protein (BFP)) and/or whitening particles to provide the teeth with a whiter appearance.