I have four porcelain veneers. They’re in fine condition but the teeth next to them are starting to show their age. Is there a way for me to whiten them without damaging the veneers? I was thinking of using Crest Whitestrips.
Pamela
Dear Pamela,
If you were going to use any over-the-counter whitening kit, that would be the one I recommend. Most over the counter products use abrasives or contain acidic ingredients. While they can make your teeth look whiter, in reality they are actually damaging your teeth; Crest Whitestrips uses a true whitening gel and will safely bleach them. That being said, there are two downsides.
First, They’re only designed to cover a few front teeth, which are your porcelain veneers. You want the adjacent teeth to be reached. You have two choices in handling that. Either you can use two strips and put them on each side of the veneers or you can cut them in half. The second issue has to do with their strength. Because they’re over the counter, they have to be made significantly weaker than what you would get from your dentist. In reality, this could actually end up costing you more.
In your place, I’d just get professional teeth whitening done. The gel won’t harm the porcelain veneers at all and will only whiten your natural tooth structure.
This is one area of cosmetic dentistry where you can shop around for the best deal. It doesn’t take a great deal of skill so pretty much any dentist can do it. I’d go to the dentist who is the most affordable.
This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.