How Are My Teeth Too White?
I need to get a dental crown. My first one ever. I was a bit surprised when my dentist put it in. After I finally got to look at it, I realized it didn’t match any of the teeth next to it. It’s darker than the rest of my teeth. When I asked my dentist about it, he told me it’s because my teeth are too white for dental crowns. How is that even possible? I do whiten them with a cosmetic dentist across town, but that shouldn’t make my teeth too white. It doesn’t make sense. But, he showed me the tooth guide for crowns. Sure enough my teeth are whiter than the whitest thing on his guide. How in the world do people with white teeth get dental crowns that match if they need them?
Olivia
Dear Olivia,
I can tell you right away what the problem is here. I’m guessing that you went to a cosmetic dentist across town for something as simple as teeth whitening because your general dentist does not do any cosmetic work at all. If he doesn’t even do teeth whitening, he won’t have an updated shade guide.
It sounds like your dentist is still using the old shade guide. This was perfectly adequate for many years. Then, in the 1990s, teeth whitening gained in popularity. One misconception people have is that when your teeth are whitened, they don’t just go to their original white color. They can also be bleached even whiter than their natural shade.
Dentists were no longer able to match dental crowns to the new whiter teeth. Because of that, the companies that made these shade guides adjusted. They added an extension which worked with the new, brighter shades (pictured below).
It doesn’t sound like your dentist has kept up with the industry enough to know that this is even an option. What bothers me about that is how far behind it is. The best dentists keep up with their field, not only because it gives them more options for treatment, but it is also provides their patients with improved outcomes.
It’s one thing not to keep up with the latest developments in real time. It’s another thing altogether to be more than three decades behind in your field. My suggestion is that you get a refund on this dental crown from your current dentist and then go to the cosmetic dentist who whitens your teeth to get the crown done in a shade that blends in with the remainder of your teeth.
This blog is brought to you by a skilled cosmetic dentist in Naples, Dr. Robert Bracho.
