How to Whiten Crowns and Veneers
The best way to whiten porcelain crowns and veneers is to replace them.
The good news is, porcelain crowns and veneers are highly resistant to staining. The bad news is, they are also resistant to teeth whitening treatment.
Here’s what you need to know about stains, whitening, and crowns & veneers:
Why teeth stain: Natural teeth can develop stains in two main ways. First, a layer of protein on the teeth can absorb coloration from the foods that you eat. Over time any discoloration in this layer can leach into the tooth enamel and cause more severe staining. Secondly, teeth may become stained due to damage to the tooth structure, such as decay or death of the tooth.
Why porcelain won’t stain: Today’s porcelain veneers and crowns are made from very strong, smooth, dense material. This means that stains have trouble adhering to the surface, and any surface stains that do appear will not be able to penetrate down into the restoration. Normally, simply brushing your teeth is enough to keep porcelain crowns and veneers looking white.
Whitening treatments can make matters worse: If you have just one crown, you need be careful about using teeth whitening treatments on your natural teeth. If you lighten your natural teeth too much, they won’t match your crown anymore. This can cause an appearance of the crown being dark or discolored, when the real issue is that your other teeth have changed color.
Of course, the opposite problem can also occur—if your natural teeth become stained your crown will look too white. This makes it very important to take a preventative—rather than a corrective—approach to keeping your natural teeth white if you have a crown. In other words, you want work on polishing away minor staining every day with a good oral hygiene routine rather than allowing your teeth to darken and then bleaching them.
Why you should worry about discoloration: If your crowns or veneers appear dark or discolored, and the issue is not an optical illusion caused by whitening your natural teeth, this is a telltale sign that something is wrong with the underlying tooth. You may have a leak under the restoration, which is allowing decay to occur and cause a darkened appearance, or (especially in the case of a veneer) the tooth may have died and turned gray. In either case, this shows that you need to have the crown or veneer evaluated by an experienced dentist and most likely replaced.
Ready to Replace Your Crowns or Veneers?
If you are ready to enjoy a whiter, brighter smile, come to California Dental Group for a consultation. We can provide professional teeth whitening treatment to improve the color of your natural teeth, and then make sure your new crowns and veneers are matched to that new standard.
