Center of Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Crest Whitestrips have been popular with some patients. While they are much weaker than in-office bleaching of teeth, they do whiten the teeth a little bit, and they have been thought to be a very mild form of whitening with no real risks.

However, there is a posting on the mynewsmile blog that came to our attention. Someone who was using Crest Whitestrips had a tooth that became so sensitive that it needed a root canal treatment. It reinforces what we have been telling patients for a long time, that the safest way to bleach your teeth is under the direct supervision of a dentist.

Read the posting about Crest Whitestrips risks.

I have two teeth that are darker than the rest of my teeth. I wanted to whiten my teeth but the two fake ones won’t whiten. One is entirely fake with a bridge to hold it in and the other is just a small tooth but my dentist put another layer on the outside to make it larger. I was wondering what I could do in order to get them whiter?
- Caroline from California

Caroline,
One thing to know about any kind of tooth whitening is that it whitens your teeth uniformly. If their color is uneven when you start, it will be uneven when you end – maybe even more uneven.

Another thing to know about teeth bleaching is that it doesn’t bleach crowns, fake teeth, or fillings – only natural teeth. So your false tooth would stay the same color while the rest of the teeth get whiter. And the tooth bonding that you have on the one small tooth that you talk about – that won’t bleach either.

In order to get your teeth whiter, you would have to first replace the bridge that you have, and then also either replace or resurface the dental bonding that you have on the small tooth or cover it over with a porcelain veneer.

Related links:
You may want to visit our main Chicago cosmetic dentist website
Replacing old porcelain veneers
Chicago Zoom whitening