Crowns and Teeth Whitening? (photo)

If you want to whiten your teeth know that the porcelain crown color or a veneer will NOT get whiter. If the color change of your natural teeth got much whiter with bleaching procedure, wait for couple of months then decide if you need to change the crown or a veneer. With bleaching teeth the color is not permanent, and it can revert back, unless you use more permanent solution like veneers, in which the color is stable.

Hi, thanks for your question!  Crown shades won't change when using bleaching/whitening products, so if you choose to whiten, know that the crown shade will stay the same, and the difference in shade between it and your other natural teeth will depend upon how your teeth whiten.  Should you choose to replace the crown at some point, a full-porcelain crown (not with a metal base), will ensure an extremely aesthetic result, and can be made to exactly match your "new" shade--good luck!

Unfortuately if you were to whiten your teeth, the porcelain will not change color along with your natural teeth. However, try the whitening and see what results you get. You may find that there may not be a drastic difference in color. If the dark like is a major concern too, the only was to remove it would be to replace it.

Unfortunately there is no way to correct the shade of an existing crown.  When you do whiten the your teeth, it is likely that the natural teeth will whiten, but the crown will stay the same color, making it appear more yellow.  It's great that the crown has lasted 14 years, but there really great options now with all porcelain crowns and when you replace it with an all porcelain crown you will not see that dark line at the gum line any more (the dark line is caused by the metal underneath the crown because it is probably a porcelain fused to metal crown).  Good luck!

Unfortunately whitening will whiten everything but the crown and may make that dark line more obvious. think about saving towards a new all ceramic crown once you whiten your smile!

 

If your other teeth do whiten from the bleaching, and the 1 crown does not, then it will no longer match in color and will have to be replaced if you want it to match. No choice!

The dark line is most likely the metal under the porcelain on the crown, after 14 years consider doing both crowns together best cosmetic results good luck

 

 

Kevin Coughlin DMD, MBA, MAGD    CEO Baystate Dental

The type of crown that it appears you have is a porcelain fused to metal crown which is why you see the dark gray line at the gum.  I would recommend whitening prior to removing the crown then having a custom shade made with your dentist at the crown preparation appointment.  The new crown could be made out of newer materials like emax to look more life like.  The whitening should be allowed to settle for 2 weeks to get the truest tooth shade.  I find Kor Bleaching to be the most effective bleaching.   Good Luck!

Assuming your crown color matches the color of the surrouning teeth, and you want to whitten your teeth, you would need to get a new crown to match your lightened teeth.  Change the crown AFTER whitening but wait at least 2 weeks for the new color to stabilize.