Veneer question?

Question

I have front veneers, and I know you can whiten them, but I think since one of my front teeth is natuarally darker then the other onw, it makes the veneer look darker. Could I whiten the back of my tooth to make it shine through whiter?

Answer 1

Actually you "can't whiten" the veneers. You may see some results by bleaching the back since light goes through the tooth giving it the lighter appearance, but it won't change the shade the veneer was made. Some patients say they seem to lighten from doing the others along with them. The bleach won't hurt them but it won't change the shade either. If you do this, be careful not to lighten the others too much making the veneers stand out darker.

I would think that a good cleaning to remove the staining that occurs naturally on the lingual or tongue side would be a better choice though.

My concern would be, why one is darker? Sometimes a tooth will die for no reason, or it has been traumatized by a blow (sometimes bumping it hard even with a glass can cause this) and the pulp is leaching blood into the dentin tubules causing this tooth to appear darker.

If that's the case the tooth will need an elective root canal to remove the dead pulp, then you can possibly have the bleaching done through the coronal portion of the canal to lighten the tooth. Also by using a fiber post which is white, will help to keep the tooth light or more your natural shade.

I would find out "why" first. Are these veneers new? How old are they? Have you had anything traumatic happen to the tooth to cause it to die? These are questions you need to answer, I would be here all night if I were to give you reasons to "all" of them. Although there are several things that I would love to discuss with you about this tooth. Hopefully I've been of some help with this question and you'll find an answer in my advice. Good luck.

Answer 2

You can't whiten veneers, they're porcelain and colored from the creator. Your teeth color shouldn't be showing through.