I have had my porcelain veneers for about 7.5 months. I was very excited about them (and still am), however, they have begun to stain. I do drink coffee, but I brush my teeth so I was surprised they stained this quickly. If I had some teeth whitening done, will it brighten them back up?
Ambrosia
Dear Ambrosia,
A smile makeover should last for years.
I’m glad you wrote. Your porcelain veneers should not be staining like this, especially since you haven’t had them for very long. This is true even though you drink coffee. This tells me that something has damaged your porcelain veneers. The timing is interesting to me. I wonder if at your recent cleaning (which I’m assuming you had around the six month mark) if your dental hygienist used something like a power prophy jet or some acidulated fluoride during your appointment. If so, this would completely remove the glazing on your porcelain veneers. It is the glazing that protects your porcelain veneers from staining.
Unfortunately, teeth whitening only works on natural tooth structure. My recommendation is that you go back to your dentist and talk to them about the issue. They should be able to polish these back up to get you the shine you need.
Even though your porcelain veneers are stain resistant, it never hurts to use toothpaste that will help with surface stains. Do NOT use over the counter whitening toothpastes. These will damage the veneers because they use abrasives to whiten your teeth. These micro scratches will actually cause your porcelain veneers to stain. Instead, I am going to recommend that you use Supersmile Toothpaste. This is specifically formulated for cosmetic work. It uses a protein pellicle to safely remove surface stains on your teeth.
I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.