Baton Rouge Dentist

Nuclear Teeth

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I want to whiten my teeth, but a couple of my friends have already done it and I think their teeth are too white. In fact, they almost look like they’ve survived a nuclear explosion and are radioactive. Is there avoid that “news anchor” white?

Tracy B. – Colorado

Tracy,

Tracy,

You are in complete control of how much whitening your teeth get. I’d suggest you get at home teeth whitening. That gives you more control.  You’ll simply wear the trays with the gel in it until you reach the level of whitening you are comfortable with.

There is nothing that will make your teeth go nuclear unless you decide to, so you should be just fine.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

Teeth whitening didn’t work

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I had my teeth whitened. They looked great for a while, but now the stains are back. Is teeth whitening really some kind of scam?

Dan B. – Florida

Dan,

No. The teeth whitening worked. In fact, the stain removal is permanent. The stains you are seeing on your teeth now are new ones.

The food you eat and the drinks you consume all stain your teeth, especially if you drink things like coffee or eat staining fruits.

Usually your dentist lets you keep your trays. This way you can just get some new gel periodically to do a touch-up.  You shouldn’t need it very often.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Why can’t I whiten my crown?

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My dental crown has started to get stained. I don’t know what to do. My teeth are discolored anyway, so I thought I could knock off two birds with one stone, but my dentist says it is not impossible. Is there anything I can do?

A.J.  – San Diego

A.J.,

Unfortunately, your dentist is right. Dental work, such as veneers or crowns, cannot be whitened even with professional teeth whitening. Your only option is the have the dental crown replaced. If you do this, let me give you some advice that will make it the best result possible for you.

First, if you’re going to want to get your teeth whitened as well, you’ll want to do that before you get your new crown made. That way your crown can be specifically designed to match your new white smile.

Secondly, you’ll want to get all-porcelain crowns, not porcelain fused to metal. That will give you a more natural and aesthetic result.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

Whiten dark lines at top of teeth

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I’ve been getting these dark lines at the top of my teeth, near the gumline. It’s on all the teeth that have dental crowns. Will teeth whitening solve this problem?

Stacy S.  – Wyoming

Stacy,

Unfortunately, the problem isn’t your teeth, it’s your crown. You can’t whiten dental crowns using teeth whitening. It sounds like your dentist gave you porcelain fused to metal crowns. Eventually, they all develop a dark line at your gumline.

The only way to fix this problem is to get new crowns. This time get all porcelain crowns. They’ll be more natural looking and you won’t get a gray line. However, because you realize that dental work can’t get whitened, you might consider getting your teeth whitened before you re-do the crowns. Then, you can get the all-porcelain crown to match your new sparkly white smile.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

My smile embarrasses me

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My teeth have been really dark ever since I was a girl. The older I get, the more embarrassed I get about it. My teeth look like I never clean them. No matter what I do they don’t get whiter. Is there anything I can do about it?

Amanda T. – Rhode Islan

Amanda,

Of course, I haven’t examined you, but I suspect the dark stains on your teeth are tetracycline stains.  It is an antibiotic that affects the coloring of developing teeth. Tetracycline stained teeth can be anywhere from a little grey to a dark brown.

I’m sorry this happened to you. I know it is hard to feel confident with a smile that makes you uncomfortable. I’m going to tell you about some cosmetic options. First, you need to be aware that it is very hard to whiten tetracycline teeth, so those these options will help, they will not be perfect.

One option is teeth whitening. There is an oxidation process that takes place during professional teeth whitening. It will help.  It may not get them perfectly white, but they will be greatly improved.  A second option is porcelain veneers. However, let me caution you a little more with this one.  Any dentist can do teeth whitening on tetracycline stained teeth. However, very few dentists can do porcelain veneers on tetracycline stained teeth well. Either they end up getting them too opaque to cover the stains, which makes them look fake, or they are too translucent and show the stains. You would have to be willing to spend extra money to go to an expert in order for these to work in a way that you’d be pleased with the results.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

Bleach my teeth with bleach

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I want my teeth whitened. I was saving up for a dentist, but my roommate says we can just use laundry bleach and cotton balls.  That doesn’t sound right to me. If people could just use bleach, why would anyone go to the dentist for teeth whitening?

Amelia J. – Berkeley, CA

Amelia,

You were wise to check.  Your roommate is making a foolish and dangerous choice. It is not household bleach that whitens your teeth.  Your dentist would never use laundry bleach, becuase he knows it is corrosive. If you or your roommate were to put any in your mouth, it would  damage  your oral cavities soft tissues.

Besides causing damage to your tissue in your mouth it also will harm your teeth. Bleach can remove moisture from your teeth. Without moisture, your teeth weaken and  become brittle, making them more sensitive.

Additionally, bleach is a poison. There is a toxic chemicals in bleach called sodium hypochorite. Even small amounts of sodium hypocrite an cause problems if you  swallow it, causing both vomiting and stomach irritation. If larger amounts are swallowed, then poisoning develops causing heart issues, coma, shock, and even death.

The best way for you to get your teeth whitened is to go the dentist’s office. Many dentists have two option for whitening for patients: in office or at-home.  You can decide which one fits your schedule and budget.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

My teeth went gray with whitening

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I enjoy bleaching my teeth and do it at least once a month since my “official” bleaching treatments ended. My dentist let me keep my trays. Now, for some reason, my gums are receding and the edges of my teeth are gray. Did I get some bad bleach?

Gina D. – Alabama

Gina,

The issue isn’t a problem with the bleach, but with over bleaching your teeth. It really is possible to have too much of a good thing. In this case it is bleach. When the whitening agent is overused, it will not only cause your gums to recede, but can also make your teeth quite brittle. Another consequence is the edges of your teeth becoming gray or translucent.  This sounds exactly like what is going on with you.

It will be very important that you remineralize your teeth. You also need to stop teeth whitening for quite some time.  I’m rather frustrated that your dentist didn’t warn you about this. I’m assuming, of course, that he provided the bleaching gels to you as you ran out. He’d know how much you were using.

To remineralize your teeth get a toothpaste like Sensodyne pro enamel.  You’ll also want to get in and see your dentist. He can tell you how much damage has been done.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

My dentist says my teeth are too far gone for teeth whitening

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I have stains on my teeth from medicine I took as a child. My dentist said because of that I’ll need to get porcelain veneers. That my teeth are too dark for teeth whitening. Porcelain veneers are much more expensive than teeth whitening. I am tired of my dark teeth, but is that really my only option?

Nicole K. – Detroit, MI

Nicole,

I suspect you have stains from tetracycline. They do tend to make the teeth so dark that it is hard to repair them.  I am suspect of your dentist’s advice though. As difficult it is to get your teeth to whiten with tetracycline stains, it is more difficult to get them to look natural with porcelain veneers.

If you don’t want to spend that much money, I would ask him to try the teeth whitening first. Some dentists have had remarkable success, experimenting with different brands and systems.

Because of the depth of the stains a cosmetic dentist has to strike a delicate balance.  You need them to be opaque enough to cover the stains, but not so opaque that they lose the translucent look of natural teeth.

I’d have to be confident that your dentist was an expert in the cosmetic field. He would need significant post-graduate training in porcelain veneers with a great eye for artistry. Ask him how many tetracycline cases he has done and ask to see the results.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

My dentist says I can’t whiten my teeth

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I got porcelain veneers on six of my teeth, but you can see my other teeth do not quite match them. I wanted to whiten them to make the veneers and the teeth match, but he said you can’t whiten with veneers. What can I do?

Andrea M. – Franklin, TN

Andrea,

I want to make sure you understood your dentist correctly.  He is right you cannot whiten veneers, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot whiten your other teeth.  If he is telling you otherwise, then he doesn’t understand teeth whitening.

I will say I don’t think he understands porcelain veneers either. If you can see your other teeth, then he should have either had you whiten them to match your new veneers before they were placed, or he should have suggested you have at least eight veneers.

I suspect your dentist is just your average family dentist, and he doesn’t understand cosmetic dentistry. However, that being said, I would do take-home whitening until they are the color you are comfortable with.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

Teeth whitening with a crown

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I want to get my teeth whitened, but I have two porcelain crowns. Will the whitening help the crowns or damage them?

Tammy L. – Georgia

Tammy,

Teeth whitening will do neither. It is completely ineffective on any type of cosmetic work.  I’m assuming your porcelain crowns match the current color of your teeth. If that is the case and you whiten them, your natural teeth will get whiter, but the porcelain crowns will remain darker.

Here is what you can do though. I would get your teeth whitened to the color you would be the most excited about. Then wait a couple of weeks and get new porcelain crowns to match your new white smile.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.