I had dental bonding done on my front two teeth. It’s only been five days and they’ve already turned noticeably yellow. The only thing I even can think of that could have damaged them was brushing with baking soda. I heard that is good for teeth, but maybe it is not for dental bonding. What do you think?
Jenny P.
Dear Jenny,
Baking soda will damage your dental bonding because it is an abrasive. However, you have only had this bonding for five days, so your dentist should be willing to polish them back up for you. There is a possibility they are turning yellow because your dentist used subpar materials. Sometimes, less experienced cosmetic dentists don’t realize which materials have the right quality. The reason I mention this to you is it doesn’t sound like your dentist gave you any post-procedural instructions on how to care for these. In my mind, that doesn’t reflect on the dentist very highly.
Taking Care of Bonded Teeth
The longevity of your dental bonding will in a large part depend on how well they are cared for. This is why teaching a patient the best practice in care for them is so important.
Regular brushing and flossing is a must. Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you to switch toothpaste. Whenever someone has any type of cosmetic work done on their teeth, I always recommend Supersmile Toothpaste. Not only is this gentle on dental work, it is effective in removing stains without using an abrasive.
Be careful at your dental appointments. Sometimes the dentist needs to make certain the hygienist is informed about what parts of their normal procedure can harm cosmetic work. Two things that you do NOT want your hygienist to use is a power prophy jet or any acidulated fluoride. Both of those can damage the polish on your dental bonding causing it to pick up stains.
You have some bonding on your front teeth. When there is bonding on the biting edges, you want to be careful about adding any stress to those edges. For instance, crunchy things like carrots should be eaten with your side teeth and not your front teeth as you’re likely used to. If you had porcelain veneers, this wouldn’t be an issue because veneers are much stronger and you could eat whatever you wanted with them.
Whenever I say, “You can eat whatever you want.” there will always be someone who wants to test that by doing something insane like chomping on some metal. Hopefully, that is a no-brainer kind of “don’t do that.”
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.