Crown Too Dark

Posted by writeradmin

I needed a crown on my lateral incisor. My dentist gave me the whitest crown possible, but it is too dark for the rest of my teeth. My dentist says it is because I whiten too much and that I can either have one tooth a little darker or I can whiten less. I know that porcelain veneers can be made very white. Is it possible for me to have a porcelain veneer placed over a crown?

Mazie

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Dear Mazie,

I’m guessing your dentist does not do a lot of cosmetic dentistry. It sounds like he is working with the old shade guide, which I have above. This is designed to help dentists find the right shade for a dental crown to match the tooth color. This worked fine for decades. Then teeth whitening became more popular. Suddenly, more and more patients had teeth that were so white they were too white for the brightest shade available.

Fortunately, this problem was recognized so the companies came up with an updated shade guide (see directly above). Dentists who do a lot of cosmetic work, will have it. You won’t need to put a porcelain veneer over the crown. In fact, you wouldn’t want to. A veneer bonds well with natural tooth structure, but not with more porcelain, such as on a porcelain crown.

The good news is you won’t have to. You can go to a dentist who has a lot of cosmetic training. They will have the adjusted shade guide. You can continue teeth whitening to your heart’s content and get the dental crown you need.

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.