dental bonding Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

Brown Spots On Teeth

Posted on August 6, 2024 by writeradmin.

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

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.

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.

Bonding, Whitening, and Tetracycline Stains

Posted on April 4, 2024 by writeradmin.

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

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 KöR 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 or laser treatments, even though they are 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. One type of take home whitening that is stronger than others is KöR Whitening. You could see if your dentist offers that.

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

Posted on March 11, 2024 by writeradmin.

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

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?

Posted on February 29, 2024 by writeradmin.

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

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. 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.

Will Teeth Whitening Solve Uneven Tooth Color?

Posted on April 29, 2023 by writeradmin.

My 15 year old daughter just got her braces off. When she did, there were white spots on them which made her teeth uneven. We went to see our family dentist and she suggested we have teeth Whitening done to even them out. We did that, but the white spots are still there and even more noticeable. Did something go wrong?

Callie

Dear Callie,

I’m glad you wrote. Teeth whitening is not a treatment for uneven teeth. While it is an amazing way to whiten your teeth, it is not a treatment for uneven color. Teeth whitening, no matter the method, will whiten your teeth evenly. This is why your daughter’s white spots are still there.

Fixing White Spots After Braces

While I am certain your dentist has the best of intentions, I’m not sure how well she understands her field. When you have white spots after braces, that is a sign of decalcification, which is a precursor to decay. This is a common problem with braces because it is tricky brushing and flossing around all those metal wires and brackets. I don’t know if you have any other teens that will need braces, but if so, I would recommend Invisalign. It is much easier for them to keep their teeth clean.

The solution to white spots is microabrasion and dental bonding. However, I would not have your dentist do this. Teeth whitening is THE most basic cosmetic procedure and she did not understand the principles behind how that worked. Dental bonding is a very advanced cosmetic procedure and has to be done freehand. I would look for an advanced cosmetic dentist to do this for your daughter.

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

Smile Makeovers for Less

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Dr. Dennis.

I looked into a smile makeover. The top recommendation always seems to be porcelain veneers, but the price tag on those is through the roof. Are there any decent cosmetic dentistry options for those of us with normal incomes. I have stained and chipped teeth. I’d love to be able to get a smile I can be proud of.

Brittany

Dear Brittany,

Life is expensive, isn’t it? It would be great if all of us were independently wealthy and could just purchase what we wanted without fear of ending up homeless as a result. Fortunately, there’s a way for you to get a beautiful smile while having an average-sized budget.

Inexpensive Cosmetic Dentistry Solutions

The least expensive thing you can do for your teeth is also extremely effective at making you look years younger— teeth whitening. This is an amazing way to brighten your smile and it doesn’t cost a fortune. Plus, it’s foundational to almost every other procedure.

Even those who get porcelain veneers will often whiten at least their bottom arch of teeth first because they don’t want to pay for veneers on both arches, but do want the two halves of their smile to come close to the same color.

For your chipped teeth, the go-to solution is to have dental bonding done. This uses a composite resin, which your cosmetic dentist will hand sculpt onto your tooth filling in all missing structure. When combining this with whitening your teeth, it’s imperative you do the whitening procedure first.

Only natural tooth structure responds to whitening gel. If you decided to get the bonding done first, when you go to whiten your teeth, the teeth will brighten but the bonding portions will stay the same color, giving your smile a blotchy, mismatched appearance.

But, when you do the whitening first, the composite bonding can be made to match the new whiter color of your teeth giving you a beautiful, uniform color for your smile.

Just those two procedures alone, neither of which costs too much, will give you a smile you’ll be happy to share.

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

Solving a Huge Tooth Gap

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I have a humongous tooth gap. It’s so large, you could likely fit another tooth in between the two spaces. My dentist is suggesting two things. I’m not sure I’m crazy about either of them. One is a snap-on smile. The other is Lumineers. I don’t like that the snap-on smile isn’t permanent. The Lumineers are, but cost a fortune. Because of that, I wanted to check if there are other options my dentist might be overlooking. I’m too old for braces which is why that’s not an option I’m considering.

Danny

Dear Danny,

I’m glad you wrote. Both of the things your dentist suggested would range from disappointing to disastrous. Not many patients are happy with snap-on smile for anything but a photo shoot. It’s a decent temporary solution. And I do mean decent. They will be no where near as stunning as a smile makeover with porcelain veneers. Plus, even with careful treatment, they only last a few years. That leads me to the Lumineers.

Even if you were willing to pay that much money to fix this gap, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that brand of porcelain veneers. Their lab is not known for producing beautiful results. In addition, they are often marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place because they don’t “require” tooth preparation. Unfortunately, in most cases, those results end up bulky looking.

In your particular case, if you decided to go with porcelain veneers the size of your gap would require you hire one of the top cosmetic dentists in the country. That would likely be even more expensive than what your dentist quoted you.

The Affordable Tooth Gap Solution

When there is a small tooth gap, it is generally closed up using dental bonding. This is a composite resin that can be hand sculpted onto your teeth to fix chips and gaps. However, as mentioned above, the size of your gap complicates things.

You mentioned you are too old for braces. Is that something your dentist told you or are you feeling like you are too old to have a bunch of metal wires and brackets? Many adults feel that way. Plus, sometimes you have a professional position in which appearance is an important factor.

By any chance did your dentist mention Invisalign. This is a huge advancement in orthodontics. It allows you to straighten your teeth (or in your case close tooth gaps) invisibly. Instead of metal, it uses clear aligners to gently guide your teeth into a new position.

This is actually what I’d recommend to a patient in your position.

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

Discolored Fillings on Front Tooth

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I needed fillings on a front tooth so I asked my dentist to do one of those white fillings. He agreed and, while they are better than having silver on my front teeth, they don’t match the rest of my teeth which are white. My dentist tried bleaching them but that only made it worse. What do I do?

Katelyn

Dear Katelyn,

I am sorry this is happening to you. While you were right to choose white composite fillings, it sounds like your dentist is new to this advancement. In fact, based on what you’ve told me, it doesn’t sound like he understands anything about cosmetic work either.

The fillings could have been made to match your teeth perfectly. The composite material used for these type of fillings comes in every shade imaginable. The fact that they don’t match means he didn’t create the right shade.

As to him trying to do teeth whitening to solve the problem, that wouldn’t work either (as you’ve discovered). The bleaching gel only works on natural tooth structure. This means while your teeth will get whiter, the composite fillings will stay the same color. This requires only a basic understanding of how teeth whitening works.

The way for you to get this fixed is to have the fillings re-done. However, I don’t think having your dentist re-do them is a good idea. Because he already mismatched them and charged you for teeth whitening to “fix” it, I think you should ask for him to pay for another dentist to do this.

Look for dentists who do a good job with dental bonding. That will give you an idea of who has the capabilities.

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

Dentist Called Me Pretentious

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I don’t think I’m being pretentious, but that’s what my dentist said. My son fell and gave his front tooth a rather large chip. Oral health is important to me, including the appearance of his smile. I wanted the dentist to give him a porcelain veneer or crown to repair the chip. He said I was being pretentious and would give my son a complex about his appearance. I just want him to have healthy teeth. What do you recommend? I’d prefer an actual recommendation without insulting me, please.

Hollie O.

Dear Hollie,

A porcelain veneers being placed on a tooth

Porcelain Veneers are not a good solution for children

First, your dentist behaved inappropriately. Even if he thought you were being pretentious, which he obviously did, good chairside manner means not insulting your patients. That’s dentistry 101. Plus, if it’s important to you, it should be important to him. All that being said, both porcelain veneers and crowns are the wrong solution for your son. I will give you a better solution after I explain why.

Your son’s bite and jaw are still developing. That means it’s undergoing constant change. He’ll outgrow his veneers quickly and regularly. That’s a very expensive way to repair his smile. Plus it removes unnecessary tooth structure.

As far as a dental crown goes, there are rare occasions when a child needs a crown. But, it would be a mistake in his case. While porcelain veneers remove a minimal amount of tooth structure, porcelain crowns remove a substantial amount. The tooth has to be ground down to a nub in order to make room for the crown. That’s a lot of healthy tooth structure to essentially just throw away.

When Are Porcelain Veneers a Good Solution

Porcelain veneers are great for adults who want to remake several things about their smile. Veneers can completely change the character of your smile, mixing changes in color, shape, and size. A lot of celebrities have their gorgeous smiles because of a skilled cosmetic dentist designing their porcelain veneers.

A Better Solution for a Chipped Tooth

The go-to solution for chipped teeth is dental bonding, even for adults. This is where a cosmetic dentist will use a composite resin to hand sculpt the missing part of his tooth. It’s perfect even for a growing bite because it’s only on the missing part.

Here’s the thing, I don’t think you and your current dentist are a good fit. He obviously doesn’t care about cosmetics and you do. You will always be at odds. It’s very likely he doesn’t know cosmetic procedures and he’s “covering” for that by trying to make you feel vain for even asking for them. He’d rather insult you than admit he doesn’t know how to do it.

Look up some other dentists in your area and check out their reviews. Also, check their smile gallery to make sure they get attractive results you’d be proud to wear when it comes to cosmetic procedures.

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