Teeth whitening is the most popular service in cosmetic dentistry. This comes to no surprise considering that professional teeth whitening is incredibly quick, non-invasive, affordable and can produce dramatic improvements within your smile. However, many patients have existing dental crowns, either from teeth that have suffered a prior injury or those that were repaired from decay or infection. Therefore, it is common for patients to wonder what will happen to their crowns (or other dental restorations) if they whiten their teeth.
Will a professional teeth whitening treatment harm a dental crown? The short answer is no. Teeth whitening should not damage, weaken or compromise your existing crowns. However, if you have a porcelain crown, the treatment will not lighten your crown like it does your natural teeth. Porcelain crowns are made to be stain-resistant, so they don’t discolor (or lighten) like your natural teeth.
If you are unhappy with the color of your smile, don’t let your crown stop you from brightening it up a bit. Dark-colored foods, smoking and the natural aging process are all culprits to a yellowed, stained or dingy smile. While you may find that professional teeth whitening lightens your natural teeth enough to match your dental crown, others may notice that their crown stands out in color after a whitening session.
Go ahead and achieve your ideal smile color first. Once you are happy with the results, ask your dentist to remake your crown to match the new brilliance of your surrounding teeth. While we can’t always predict your results with exact accuracy when you undergo teeth whitening, we can get a perfect match in shade when it comes to crafting your new crown.
Have more questions about teeth whitening or how your dental crown will respond to certain procedures? Call Park South Dentistry. We are always here to answer your questions about your smile!
