I am very excited about getting porcelain veneers. Because I could only afford four of them for my front four teeth, my dentist suggested I first do teeth whitening. Then, when I’ve completed that plus two weeks we can start on the porcelain veneers. I have been waiting to have a beautiful smile for so long that I don’t really want to wait weeks and weeks to start my porcelain veneers. Is there any way I can do them at the same time and the dentist base them on the color they will be?
Sandy
Dear Sandy,
I am so excited for you getting the smile makeover you have always wanted. If you can just be a bit more patient, you will be much happier with the results. Porcelain veneers are fashioned to match the current color of your teeth. Your dentist was wise to have you do teeth whitening first. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide. If you only get four porcelain veneers, which is fine, then without the whitening you will have two vastly different colors of your teeth. That would not look okay.
The final color of teeth whitening is impossible to predict. So much of it depends on how long you whiten each day, as well as the number of weeks. Even then, you could not predict an exact color. The reason for waiting two weeks after you complete your whitening is because the teeth will continue to whiten, as more oxygen bubbles are released. It generally takes between on to two weeks for the color to settle down.
That is when your dentist can precisely match the porcelain veneers. Even if he tried to guess and get close, the tiniest of differences could end up making the teeth look “off” somehow.
This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.