I’m not sure what to do. I’m a heavy coffee drinker and have been for years. It causes pretty serious staining on my teeth. I’ve always been able to get them back to a less embarrassing color by using over-the-counter teeth whitening strips. For some reason, I’m having more trouble this time. One of the teeth didn’t whiten. In fact, that tooth seems to have turned gray. Can a dentist fix this with professional strength teeth whitening?
Carla
Dear Carla,
It’s great that you are trying to keep up with the appearance of your teeth with whitening strips. Although not as strong as professional teeth whitening, some brands do whiten your teeth. The reason the gray tooth isn’t whitening isn’t because of the strength of the gel you are using.
When a tooth turns gray, it is because it is either in the process of dying or has already died. It could be that you had some trauma to the tooth which is just now showing up or maybe there’s an infection that you haven’t felt which is killing the pulp. Either way this tooth needs to be treated.
The usual treatment is to get a root canal treatment and then a dental crown to cover and protect the tooth. If there is an infection, this would be considered a dental emergency and you’d want to get in as soon as possible. Most dentists leave room in their schedules for emergency care and will fit you in that day.
Making Sure Your Crown is the Color You Want
It’s obvious you care about the appearance of your smile or you wouldn’t regularly use teeth whitening strips. A porcelain crown can be made to any color you want. So, it can be made to match the color of your teeth now or, if you want them whiter, get them whitened first and then have the dental crown made.
It’s easier for you if you whiten first. The reason for this is the color the crown is made is permanent. Not even professional teeth whitening works on anything but natural tooth structure, so if you decide to whiten later, you will have to have a new crown made in order to match the whiter color.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.