Two Concerns with My Porcelain Veneers
I had porcelain veneers placed about five days ago and love them. That being said, I have two concerns. First, I did not realize I should not be using whitening toothpaste on them. I did that because I wanted to keep them bright, but a friend told me that they can damage porcelain veneers. Did I ruin my new smile makeover? Second, I was only able to get six veneers. I wanted a white smile, which my dentist gave me. But, the teeth next to the porcelain veneers are not white and it is detracting from my beautiful new teeth. If I get my teeth whitened, will it damage the veneers?
Zack
Dear Zack,
I’m glad you wrote. Let’s start with the toothpaste because that has you really worried. While it is true that most-over-the-counter toothpastes will damage both cosmetic dental work, as well as your normal teeth, that damage would happen after some prolonged use. It sounds like you’d just stared using it, so I would not be too worried. So you know, there is one whitening toothpaste that I would recommend which is safe for both your teeth as well as your porcelain veneers–Supersmile Toothpaste. If you want to keep stains off of your teeth, this is the only toothpaste I would recommend.
As for the natural teeth being a different color, there is a fix for that. Technically, your dentist should have addressed this before you had your porcelain veneers were placed. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide. Knowing that you were only getting six porcelain veneers, your dentist should have anticipated the color difference. Standard procedure in those cases is to have the patient do teeth whitening before they get their veneers, that way the natural teeth will blend in with the veneers.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Will She Lose This Tooth?
A few years ago, I had an accident that broke off half my tooth and led to me needing a root canal treatment and dental crown of my lateral incisor (the one next to my front tooth). It was fine until recently, where I’ve had some pain on and off. I went to see my dentist who said he didn’t see anything wrong. I insisted there was, so he sent me to an endodontist. The endodontist said the pain is probably coming from the tooth next to it, but he doesn’t see anything on the x-ray. His theory is that I’ve probably been putting pressure on it while I sleep. I feel like no one is taking me seriously and am worried I’m going to lose the tooth. If I did, would a dental implant work for someone my age? I’m 32. If I do lose it, should the dentist pay for the replacement?
Angie
Dear Angie,
I’m glad you wrote. I don’t know why your dentist and endodontist found this challenging. You had serious tooth trauma a few years ago. It is highly unlikely that the adjacent teeth were not impacted by that. If you had a root canal treatment, then the crowned tooth would not be having the pain. On a back tooth there can be tricky canals, etc., but a lateral incisor would not be complicated. Because of that, the endodontist’s idea about it being referred pain from another tooth makes sense. However, I don’t agree with the pressure thing.
It is more likely that the tooth was damaged at the time of the original accident and is just now showing the signs. This is actually quite common, so that is what puzzles me about your care givers not considering that possibility.
If they don’t see anything on the x-rays at the moment, then I don’t think this is a dental emergency and would not stress about it. Instead, just have some x-rays done every couple of appointments to keep an eye on it. The most likely scenario is that at some point this adjacent tooth will also need a root canal treatment.
Nothing you’ve described makes me think that you are in danger of losing your tooth. But, if you ever do lose a tooth, then, yes, a dental implant would be an excellent tooth replacement. In fact, it is the best tooth replacement.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.