I had four porcelain veneers placed, but now the teeth that are next to them look yellow. I think I need to whiten them to match my new porcelain veneers. If I got Crest Whitestrips, would it hurt them? I figure that is safer than professional whitening for them because it is probably weaker.
Annette
Dear Annette,
I am sorry you even have to worry about this. If your dentist understood cosmetic dentistry at all, then he would have had you whiten your teeth before you had your porcelain veneers done. That is standard procedure and shows poor planning on his part. However, all is not lost.
While you are correct that Crest Whitestrips are weaker, I do not think they are going to be your best option for a few reasons.
First, as they are significantly weaker, it will take you much longer to reach the level of whitening that your veneers likely are.
Second, they only cover the first six teeth. You have veneers on four of those, so unless you want to use two strips every time to do one on each side, you’re not really going to get many teeth whitened.
Third, the amount of boxes you would have to use, especially if you are doubling up, will cost you about as much as professional teeth whitening would have to begin with.
Your best bet is to have teeth whitening done by your dentist. He can have custom trays made up. Even though the whitening gel will not affect your veneers, there is a way for the bleaching trays to be customized to exclude the veneered teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.