Internal bleaching after root canal and tooth is now whiter than others. How can I fix this?

Question

I had a root canal and internal bleaching on a front tooth. After carefully revisiting the Endodontist to get the color right, the permenant filling was placed by my dentist. About 2 months later, the tooth suddenly began to look significantly whiter than the others. It's almost blue. I was convinced my blue listerine was affecting the color so I switched to the original yellow. Any ideas on how to fix this? Could the listerine do anything?

Sarah Thompson, DMD · Answer

If you just had a root canal, I always recommend filling the root canal'ed tooth with a porcelain inlay, onlay, or crown.  When cost is an issue, I recommend composite fillings.  The negative a composite fillings is that they stain relatively easily.  In my ten years of practicing as a cosmetic dentist, I have never had a case of a patient's tooth being stained with mouthwash, so this is not highest on my differential diagnosis.  However, it is more likely that your teeth were stained by something else that you eat or drink.  I recommend having a veneer or crown placed on that root canal'ed tooth to protect it from fracture later on.  Good luck and I hope this helps. Follow me if you have more questions.Sarah Thompson, DMD

Norman Huefner, DDS · Answer

Most of the time with bleaching the whiteness will lessen over time.  Can't give you an estimation on how long this might take or whether or not it will happen at all, as tooth bleaching is often uncontrollable on the final color and outcome.I do not think that the blue mouthwash caused this problem.One answer that will give your dentist the best control over getting your teeth the same color would be to place a porcelain veneer that is matched by the ceramist to the color of your other teeth.  This is pretty predictable, and porcelain veneered teeth generally do not change color over time because they do not stain or age like natural teeth.

Wendy S. Spektor, DDS · Answer

I have done many internal whitenings.  Usually the tooth will look a little whiter when we are done but it always settles down to match the other teeth.  When we complete the whitening we need to seal the tooth-if you feel it looks blue, the seal could be defective.  Just go back to your dentist and let them redo it.Keep smiling!!!

Internal bleaching after root canal and tooth is now whiter than others. How can I fix this?

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Internal bleaching after root canal and tooth is now whiter than others. How can I fix this?

Answers (3)

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Internal Tooth Bleaching

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.