I had porcelain veneers done almost seven months ago. I really liked them and was told that they would be stain resistant. Now they seem to be picking up stains. If I were to guess, I’d say they were stains from my coffee drinking. Is there a way to get them white again? Can you whiten veneers?
Nell
Dear Nell,
It is true that porcelain veneers are very stain resistant. In fact, they are more stain resistant than even your own natural teeth. This is because of the glaze that is placed on them. That same glaze would prevent your coffee from picking up stains as long as you kept up with your oral health care and it didn’t come in contact with anything that could damage it.
The timing of the damage on your porcelain veneers has me wondering if something happened during your appointment that could have damaged that glaze. It’s possible that your hygienist used something that could have damaged or even removed the glaze, if he or she used something like a Power Prophy Jet or acidulated fluoride.
Unfortunately, teeth whitening won’t fix that problem. It will only whiten your natural tooth structure. Plus, without that glaze your veneers will continue to pick up stains.
What I recommend you do is to go to an expert cosmetic dentist without telling them who did your porcelain veneers. Then, ask them if the veneers still have the glazing on them. If that was removed, your dentist should make that right. If the glaze is there, the other dentist can tell you why they are picking up stains.
This blog is brought to you by gentle dentists in Decatur, AL Drs. Drake and Wallace.