Can I Whiten My Porcelain Veneers?

I have porcelain veneers. I’ve had loved them but they are getting coffee stains on them. My dentist told me that there was no way to whiten them after they were made, but is there a way to get them as white as they were at the beginning?

Laslo

Dear Laslo,

A porcelain veneer being held on to a tooth

I’m glad you wrote. Teeth whitening will not work on anything but natural tooth structure. The problem is more complicated than that anyway.

Porcelain veneers have a glaze on them which is very stain resistant. In fact, they are more stain resistant than even your natural tooth enamel. If it is picking up stains, then that means the glaze has been damaged somehow. There are a couple of ways that can happen.

First, if you use an abrasive toothpaste, like a whitening toothpaste, it will scratch the glazing on both your porcelain veneers as well as your natural teeth, which will cause your teeth to begin picking up stains.

A second option is if the hygienist in your dental office damaged them. This can happen if they used something like a power prophy jet or acidulated fluoride. If the stains started happening shortly after a checkup and cleaning, then that would be my first guess.

If the glaze has been damaged, then a diamond polishing kit can get them to shine again. The other option is to replace them. If your dentist’s office damaged them, then you may be able to get them to pay for the replacement. However, it may be tricky to prove it was them.

Once your porcelain veneers are in good shape again, you can help keep surface stains off of them by using Supersmile Toothpaste. This is specifically designed to be used with cosmetic dental work. It safely removes stains with a chemical compound instead of abrasives.

I hope this helps. This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Moline Dr. Thomas Goebel.

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,

A porcelain veneer being held up to a tooth.

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.

Mouthwash for Porcelain Veneers

I have some porcelain veneers that I really love. I want to take the best care of them that I can. I’ve made a homemade mouth wash and just want to make sure there is nothing in it that can hurt the veneers.

My recipe is essentially equal parts of filtered water and hydrogen peroxide and some sea salt. As an example, last night I mixed:
4 oz. filtered water
4 oz. 3% hydrogen peroxide
1 T. sea salt

Will this work for me?

Karen

Dear Karen,

Mouthwash label with an ingredient of alcohol circled.

I am glad you love your porcelain veneers. There are many patients that end up with a cosmetic dentistry horror story because their dentist did not have the artistic ability to create a beautiful smile. Thankfully, yours did. It is also commendable that you are tying your best to take care of them. Though, I wish your dentist would have given you a list of instructions to do this.

The only problem with your DIY mouthwash is the peroxide. While peroxide is great at killing bacteria, it does not distinguish between good and bad bacteria. The good news is that your mouthwash will not damage your porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, what it will do is create an environment to that will breed candida albicans, a type of yeast. As a result, you will end up with some nasty thrush.

If you really want to use a mouthwash, there are some good over-the-counter mouthwashes. The one thing that you want to avoid is a mouthwash that contains alcohol. This is because it will eventually wear out the bonding that holds your porcelain veneers in place.

While we are on the topic of taking care of your porcelain veneers, I want to suggest you use Supersmile toothpaste. This is specifically designed to safely care for cosmetic dental work and keep them stain free. This includes things like porcelain crowns and dental bonding.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.