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Can I Whiten My Porcelain Veneers?

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I have had porcelain veneers for about seven months. They started out very white, but have started picking up stains. I think it is because I drink a lot of coffee. That’s initially why I got porcelain veneers to begin with. That, and I have a chipped tooth. Is there a way for me to get these veneers back to how white they were when I first got them with something like teeth whitening?

Sara

Dear Sara,

A single porcelain veneer being held up o a tooth

For the benefit of others who may be reading this, I wanted to mention another option for improving your smile when it comes to the two things you mentioned: chips and discoloration. While you will find that porcelain veneers are the top of the line treatment for a smile makeover, you can find a suitable, less expensive option for those two things, if necessary. Another option is teeth whitening and dental bonding (for the chipped teeth). Dental bonding will not last as long as porcelain veneers, so you should expect to replace it periodically.

That being said, something has gone wrong with your porcelain veneers. The glazing on them should protect them from stains even better than your natural teeth would. Because of that, when they’re well cared for they will be white for quite some time, even if you drink coffee. You have only had yours for seven months so there should not be staining on them. If there is, the glazing has been damaged.

There are a few ways that this can happen. One of them is if you used something on the veneers which could damage them, such as over-the-counter whitening toothpastes. However, given the timing, this sounds more like your hygienist used something that damaged the glazing. It’s possible she used something like a power prophy jet or acidulated fluoride. This will scratch the glazing on your porcelain veneers, which in turn allows it to pick up stains.

While teeth whitening only works on natural tooth structure, they can polish them back up to their natural shine. This will take away the stains, but will not restore the glaze. If they were the ones to damage them, I think they should replace them.

If you are wanting to use a whitening toothpaste on your veneers, the only one I’d recommend is Supersmile Toothpaste. They use a protein pellicle, instead of an abrasive the way most whitening toothpastes do.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Brown Spots On Teeth

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I have had some brown discoloration on my teeth ever since my adult teeth came in. They’ve been an embarrassment my entire life. I’ve recently graduated from college and need to improve my smile if I am going to get a good job. My dentist and I have experimented with a ton of those over-the-counter boxes and kits for whitening. The problem we have run into is they don’t whiten the brown spots, just the already white part. She’s now considering two options. First, I could go to another dentist who does teeth whitening and see if professional strength teeth whitening will have more effect on my spots. Second, she could try grinding down the brown parts to get rid of them. She isn’t sure how much she’d have to ground down, so this has me a bit worried. What is the better option for me? I feel stuck with choosing.

Alana

Dear Alana,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

Though there is a solution for your teeth, I am going to tell you upfront that neither of the options your dentist has suggested will work. I can tell your dentist cares about you and is honest because one of the first options she suggested is that you can get a treatment that she didn’t even offer. This tells me she would rather someone else make the money if it gets you the help you need. That being said, she is in over her head.

Like you experienced with the over-the-counter teeth whitening, professional teeth whitening will not take care of the brown spots. While it will whiten your teeth more efficiently and safely than the stuff you purchase at a store, it whitens your teeth evenly. This means that the brown spots will end up looking more noticeable.

As for her second suggestion, please do not allow her to grind down your teeth. Your issue requires an understanding of advanced cosmetic dental issues. She doesn’t understand teeth whitening, which is the most basic of all the procedures.

The Solution for Browns Spots

There are two good options for you. The first is to have dental bonding done on the tooth. This is where a cosmetic dentist covers the brown spots with a white composite, similar to a dental filling. These will need to be replaced every few years and are not as stain resistant as the second option.

porcelain veneer being held up to a tooth Another procedure is porcelain veneers. With this procedure, cosmetic dentists will use tiny wafers of porcelain that will cover the entire front of your teeth. When well taken care of, they can last a lifetime. Plus, porcelain is very stain resistant; even more stain resistant than your natural teeth.

The caveat is that both of these procedures are very advanced cosmetic procedures, which would require a dentist who has invested in post-doctoral training and knows how to do them well.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Teeth Whitening or Fillings First?

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I need to get a crown on a canine tooth. One of the things I want to deal with before I get the crown is the color of my teeth. I was told that I would not be able to whiten the crown after it is made. So, I’d like to take care of that before getting my crown. I also have quite a few composite fillings that I am guessing will not change color with teeth whitening either. Should I whiten my teeth and then change the fillings? Or should I try to guess the color I’ll end up with and go that way?

Pamela

Dear Pamela,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

Your dentist is correct that the porcelain crown you get will not be impacted by teeth whitening. I am glad that he or she warned you about that. Too many people don’t learn that until it is too late and they go to get their teeth bleached. You are also correct that the teeth whitening will not do anything to the fillings.

It will be impossible for you to guess the final color for your bleaching efforts. This is because even after you stop whitening, your teeth continue to get a bit brighter for up to two weeks as oxidation continues. With all that in consideration, I would recommend you do all of the bleaching you want first and then get your dental fillings and the crown done. You are wise to get guidance on this.

There are two good options for you. The first is take-home whitening, where you wear the bleaching trays for the length of time you want each day until you achieve the whiteness you’re hoping for. A second option is to have Zoom Whitening done. This is an in-office procedure and will allow you to get your whitening done in one dental appointment. It is more expensive and some people experience a bit of sensitivity with it, but there are preventative measures for that issue.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Bonding, Whitening, and Tetracycline Stains

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I had tetracycline stains because of some medication when I was a child. I had dental bonding done quite a few years ago. Now the bonding is chipped and discolored. I can’t get porcelain veneers at this time because of finances. I was hoping that there have been advances in teeth whitening that will take care of my tetracycline stains and then I can just take off the dental bonding and whiten the teeth. Can you advise me?

Pearl

Dear Pearl,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

 

A lot of what you can do from here depends on how your dental bonding was placed. If your dentist placed the dental bonding on top of intact tooth enamel, than the aging bonding can be removed. However, if your dentist removed the enamel before placing the bonding, then your options are limited.

If your bonding is removable, then teeth whitening is a solution. My suggestion would be to have your dentist set you up with teeth bleaching trays and whiten your teeth with the strongest gel that you are able to tolerate. If your dentist has KรถR Whitening available, that has some additional strength benefits. If you are persistent, the whitening can make a huge difference. I would bleach your teeth every night for at least a couple of months. You will find your teeth look much better.

Don’t do something like Zoom Whitening, even though it is stronger. It is also much more expensive and you will need quite a few treatments. Stick with the good old bleach take home trays. You’ll get the same results, though it will take a little longer, at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, they won’t have the same exact beauty you could get with porcelain veneers if you went to an expert cosmetic dentist, but you will be much happier with your smile.

If the enamel was removed, however, your only real option is to get porcelain veneers. I would not just go to any cosmetic dentist, and definitely not the cheapest. Porcelain veneers are an advanced cosmetic procedure and tetracycline stains are the most challenging type of those cases. Save up and go to the best you can find.

Hopefully, you can at least start with the teeth whitening option and then eventually get porcelain veneers.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

 

Pain During Teeth Whitening

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I started teeth whitening a couple of weeks ago. Everything was going fine until a couple of days ago when I started having this “zing.” It kind of debilitates me for a couple of seconds. I believe the source as some old dental bonding I had done on that tooth. The bonding is about 9 years old. Does this pain mean that the teeth whitening is dissolving the bonding? If not, does that mean that the dental bonding is ending its lifecycle?

Ginny

Dear Ginny,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

I am sorry that you have been having pain with your teeth whitening. I do not believe that the bleaching is weakening the bonding agent. There has been no evidence of whitening products damaging any tooth bonding. Plus, if it had, then it would just cause the bonding to fall off instead of zinging you.

This sounds like the type of pain that happens when you have a sensitive part of the tooth. Maybe there is a damaged part of your bonding that his allowing the bleaching to reach it. I am assuming you are under the care of a dentist while you are having your teeth whitening done. I recommend going to see your dentist and letting him know what is going on.

He or she will be able to pinpoint the exact cause of the pain. If my guess is right and it is a sensitive spot, your dentist can place a coating on it that will allow you to whiten your teeth. I would not whiten until you see your dentist because you want to be certain of the exact problem. Plus, I doubt you really want the pain that you have been experiencing.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.
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Can I Whiten Dental Bonding?

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I had some dental bonding done on a couple of chips several years ago and they are really starting to stain. I’ve been told that teeth whitening does not work on dental bonding. My question is, while I know it can’t make it whiter than it was, can it get the bonding back to its original color? If not, will a whitening toothpaste help?

Mandy

Dear Mandy,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

I am glad you wrote. Unfortunately, teeth whitening will not have a positive impact on your dental bonding. In fact, it doesn’t work on any dental work. If you did whiten your teeth what would happen is your natural tooth color would get whiter, but the dental bonding would stay the same color. This would actually make your smile look worse than it does now because it would increase the difference in color for your teeth.

Most whitening toothpastes contain abrasives that will actually damage both your dental bonding and the enamel on your teeth. It will scrape off surface stains, but then there are are micro scratches on the surface of your teeth that will cause them to pick up stains even faster. These do more harm than good. There is only one brand of whitening toothpaste that I recommend — Supersmile Toothpaste. It won’t whiten the bonding, but it won’t harm either your bonding or your teeth. It can remove some surface stains from both.

The ideal thing to do is have this bonding replaced. If you are not in a financial position to afford replacing it, you could see if your dentist can polish it up a bit. This will depend on the type of fillers your dentist used on the surface part of the bonding. They would have needed to use microfills. An expert cosmetic dentist would have done this. However, some dentists who do not do a lot of cosmetic work will only carry general purpose fillers and those are not going to give you the high polish you’ll need to get them looking better.

When you are ready to replace them, you can whiten your teeth ahead of time and then have the new bonding made to match the whiter shade of your teeth. If you are in a hurry, Zoom Whitening will allow you to whiten in just one appointment. However, you will want to wait a week after in order to give the color time to settle.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Lemons for Teeth Whitening

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My youth group is having an activity for the junior high girls. We’re having facials, doing yoga, makeup, and whitening our teeth with lemons. My mother says that I can do all of it except the lemons. I was mad but she insisted it is bad for my teeth. I don’t think the youth group leaders would do something that was dangerous for our teeth. She said if I found a dentist to say it was safe, I could do it. So…here I am. Will you please tell my mother it is safe and she is worrying over nothing?

Natalie

Dear Natalie,

Lemons

I am glad you wrote. Your youth group event sounds fun! I know it probably feels like your mom panics over everything, but imagine for a moment if you were responsible for the feeding, clothing, housing, education, and safety of someone you loved like mad. You might be panicky too! While I can’t vouch for all your mom’s fears, this one has some merit.

There are all kinds of DIY teeth whitening ideas on line. Some of them are okay. Some are dangerous. Some are neither, but won’t really whiten your teeth. So where do the lemons fit in? Lemons are a citrus fruit. This means that they contain citrus acid. The acid in the citrus will etch the surface of the tooth, giving it a frothy appearance. At first this will make it look whiter, which is why so many people think it is useful for teeth whitening. Unfortunately, the etching also means that your tooth enamel is damaged.

Damaged tooth enamel ends up picking up stains very easily, as well as putting it at greater risk for decay. That means your teeth will end up more stained than they were before your lemony whitening attempt. I’m sure your youth leaders have the best of intentions and read online that this was safe. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of things online that sound authoritative that are erroneous, even from official sites. This is one of them. So, in this case, you mom is correct and it is not a good idea. Though there are good over the counter whitening kits, the safest and fastest way to whiten your teeth is with professional teeth whitening through a dentist.

Maybe you could pass this onto your youth leaders and instead of doing the lemons, you could try new hairstyles, play a game, or see who can come up with the funniest stories.

Have fun at your event.
This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Bleaching Your Teeth with Clorox

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Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

I like to read from blogs with other dental questions to see what patients are struggling with and ensure we are always ready with the latest concerns. Teeth whitening is a popular subject when it comes to questions. Most are pretty common questions. This week, however, I came across one that caught my attention. A woman wrote to a yahoo questions asking if it was okay to use household bleach to whiten your teeth.

Some of the advice she received was rude. Others had some reasonable replies. Some were giving dangerous advice. Clorox is a base, sort of like lye. This is strong enough to dissolve living tissue. In fact, that is one of the things which dentists use it for. Many dentists will use household bleach in order to clean out and dissolve left over debris in a root canal treatment. It will simultaneously disinfect the area.

If you try to use it as a means of teeth whitening, then you will find yourself doing some unintentional damage to the tissue in your mouth, including your cheeks and gums.

One of the reasons having your teeth whitening with a dentist is so important is not simply because they will have the strongest whitening gel. They also provide you with form fitted teeth whitening trays. These will protect your gums from the gel as well as keep the gel securely on your teeth, giving you the most effective teeth whitening as possible.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dentist.

Review of Premium Home Whitening Tooth Products

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I received an advert for a something called Premium Home Whitening Tooth Products. It’s cheaper than what my dentist charges. Do you know anything about this product? If so, will it actually work?

Trish

Dear Trish,

Invisalign Aligner

I did a little investigating into this product. First, the good news. Its teeth whitening ingredient is 35% carbamide peroxide. This will whiten teeth. The light they offer seems to be bogus to me, which does give me pause about the integrity of the company. If you get it, don’t expect the light to do anything.

There are two big differences here, though, about what you get with Premium and what you’d get with your dentist. Obviously, you wouldn’t be doing this under the supervision of a dentist so you’d have no way of knowing if something hinky was going on until it was too late. This leads me to the second issue, their whitening trays. This can lead to problems.

When your dentist provides teeth whitening trays for you, he makes them custom fit to your bite. This keeps the whitening gel on your teeth and away from your gums and saliva. Why is this important? Premium Home Whitening is different. Their’s are not professionally fit and will have serious leakage issues.

When you have leakage there is a three fold problem. First, the gel can reach your gums, which will be an irritant. If you have any exposed areas from your gums wearing down, it can lead to more serious issues. Second, any leaked gel means your teeth are not getting whitened by it. This is a waste of the gel. Thirdly, if gel is leaking out that means your saliva is leaking in, which dilutes the gel making it significantly less effective.

If cost is the only issue keeping you from doing this with your dentist, my recommendation is that you talk to him about it. Most dentists are willing to work with their patients as long as they are upfront about what is going on.

This blog is brought to you by Kalmazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Whitening Touch Up Before a Dental Crown

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I whitened my teeth a couple of years ago. Recently, I got in a bike accident that caused me to need a dental crown on a front tooth. I want to touch up my teeth to get them back to the white they were a couple of years ago. I asked my dentist how to go about that, for instance how long will I need to whiten each day and for how many days to get it back to shape. Also, will I need to wait between whitening and getting the crown? He wasn’t sure how to answer me so I’m left with the Internet. Do you have any advice for me?

Cathy

Dear Cathy,

Tooth bleaching trays

Tooth bleaching trays

I’m a little surprised your dentist could not advise you and that is something we will be talking about in a moment. Only one of your questions has a cut and dry answer, but there are certainly general guidelines he could have given you.

When it comes to teeth whitening, everyone has a different “final color” they’re looking for. The general principle is to whiten until you reach that. You get there faster by whitening for longer periods of time each day. The fastest option is to wear them overnight until you are happy with the color. If you have senstive teeth, you may have to wear them less than that. You will still reach the whitening you want, it will just take longer.

The one definitive is that once you reach that level, you will want to wait a minimum of one week before choosing the color of your dental crown. This is because the whitening keeps releasing the oxygen for that amount of time so there will be some more mild whitening take place while that finishes off. With front teeth, you want an exact match.

This brings me to your dentist. If your dentist could not tell you these basic principles of teeth whitening. I have serious doubts that he can do a great job in matching your crown to your existing front tooth. I wonder if you shouldn’t look for an expert cosmetic dentist to do your crown. It’s up to you, but I’m not impressed by what I’ve heard thus far.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.