Is it smart to whiten teeth before getting a crown?

Question

One of my front teeth broke when i was young. Now my dentist has recommended to get a crown, I want to however i would like to whiten my teeth first. I will probably get a at home whitening kit through my dentist. And after 2 weeks or so i want to get the crown. However this means that i will have to whiten my teeth for the rest of my life, so that my teeth remain the same color as my crown. Wil this be damaging to the health of my teeth, if done over a long period of time?

Thomas R. Gonzales, DDS · Answer

Teeth whitening is very safe if performed correctly.  There is be no damage caused to the teeth with the whitening products.  Just make sure you follow the doctors instructions and everything will be safe.

Elizabeth Reiser-Loeber, DMD · Answer

There are several types of whitening. The take-home kit is not as strong as the chair-side whitening and should not affect the overall color... just the brightness.if you want to change the color, I'd recommend the in-office chairside whitening that takes 1-2 hours. Afterwards, touch up whitening can be done at home.Anything that can stain a white shirt can stain your teeth, and if you do not drink a lot of coffee, tea, wine etc. then you won't have to whiten all the time. I had my teeth whitened about 7 years ago and have only 're-whitened' once, and touch up about every 6 months. There is no permanent damage to your teeth. The protective layer gets reformed in 12-24 hours which is why you should avoid food with a strong color directly after doing chair-side whitening. If you are going to do the stronger whitening, you want to wait for 2 weeks afterwards to match your crown color so the color can 'stabilize'.

Is it smart to whiten teeth before getting a crown?

Answers (2)