Can you help me even up my smile? I had four porcelain veneers done. They’re much nicer than my natural teeth. The only problem that I am having is that my regular teeth show when I smile. Next to the porcelain veneers, they look even worse. And, if I’m honest, it kind of gives it away that I’ve got something fake going on with those four teeth. Is there a way to bleach my natural teeth to match my porcelain veneers? How will I know when to stop? Will the bleaching damage the porcelain veneers?
Millie
Dear Millie,
I am puzzled why your dentist did not address this and keep you from all of this trouble. Standard operating procedure, when it comes to porcelain veneers, is to have the patient whiten their teeth first, before getting porcelain veneers. This is because most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide. You want to ensure that all the teeth which are visible when you smile blend in with the veneers.
It is much simpler to match your porcelain veneers to the white color you ended up with than it is to whiten after your porcelain veneers are done. This is because teeth continue whitening for at least a week after you stop using the bleach. Because of that you will not get an exact match.
While the teeth whitening will not have any whitening effect on your porcelain veneers, you can have your dentist build you a custom tray that will go around your veneers and only touch your natural tooth structure.
I’m glad you are pleased with the veneers that were crafted for you. Given, your dentist’s rookie mistake with the teeth whitening, you are fortunate to have not ended up with one of the cosmetic dentistry horror stories we sometimes hear about when a patient’s smile ends up worse than it was before they paid for their smile makeover.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.