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Decatur, AL, 35601

Drake & Wallace Dentistry

Archives for April 2023

Questions about Touching Up Teeth

Posted on by .

I am about to get a dental crown for my lateral incisors. However, I would like to touch them up before deciding on the final color for my crown. My dentist couldn’t answer my questions, so I am hoping you can. I want to get this party going.

Here are my questions:
I used Opalenscence PF at 20% strength using trays.

1. How long should I touch-up (for example, 1 week, 2 weeks)?
2. How many hours each day (1 hr., 2 hours, or 3 hours)?
3. Is it necessary to stop whitening a certain length of time before the appointment (not necessary, 1 week, 2 weeks)?

Miranda

Dear Miranda,

Teeth Whitening Trays

Professional Teeth Whitening Trays

I am glad you wrote. I will answer your question but will admit that I am a bit concerned your dentist was not able to answer this for you. Teeth whitening is the simplest of all the cosmetic procedures. If he cannot advise you on that, then how will he create a beautiful crown for you on a tooth that is visible? My suggestion before you move forward with this is that you have him show you some before and after images of crowns he’s done on the front teeth so you can get an idea if he can truly match the adjacent teeth.

Touching Up with Teeth Whitening

There are no real specifics, except for your last question. However, there is a general principle. The longer you leave the whitening trays on the faster they will whiten. Most people get the fastest result by wearing the trays overnight. One thing to be aware of is that you will want to wait about a week from the termination of the teeth whitening before you decide on the final color. This is because the teeth will continue to whiten for 7 or so days. Sometimes up to two weeks.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Dentist Cannot Match My Implant Crown

Posted on by .

I am not sure what to do. I had to have a dental implant placed on a canine tooth. I was excited about it until the crown fiasco. I am pretty fastidious with my teeth and keep them rather white. My dentist said that my teeth are too white to match a crown. That I have unnaturally white teeth. I was a bit surprised by this statement as many people whiten their teeth these days. I really don’t want a tooth that looks really yellow compared to my other teeth. Is there any way to match this?

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Updated Vita Shade Guide

Before teeth whitening became very popular, dentists all used a similar shade guide that would help them to adequately match dental work, such as dental implant crowns, to the natural teeth. Then, the use of teeth whitening explodes. Suddenly, teeth were whiter than even the whitest shade on the guides dentists used.

Fortunately, some companies caught on and updated the shade guide. I provided an image of that above. It sounds to me that your dentist does not keep up with his field very well and does not have the updated shade guide to work with.

Here are a couple of recommendations. If your dental implant is otherwise okay and you have not yet paid for your crown portion, tell your dentist that you plan on getting the crown done elsewhere and that should end the issue as long as you go to a dentist a little more up to date in his field. If you’ve already paid for the crown, ask for a refund and tell him you are going elsewhere to have this crown done. It is not unreasonable to expect your dental implant crown to match the remainder of your teeth.

If there is any reason you are concerned about the dental implant, then I would suggest you have it looked at by another dentist before moving forward. If everything is okay, go ahead with the process mentioned above. If there is a problem, then you should ask for a complete refund, plus the cost of bone grafting.

This additional cost is because you will need to have the poorly done dental implant removed, which will take some of the bone structure with it. This structure will need to be replaced in order for you to have a secure implant when it is redone.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.