Did Crest White Strips Cause This Tooth to Need a Root Canal Treatment?
Posted by writeradmin
I had a tooth that was damaged over twenty years ago. It turned dark a few years after that. Since then, the gums had receded. I always just lived with it because I didn’t feel there was any option. A friend mentioned to me that they can fix those kind of things now. So I went to see my dentist and ask him how I could fix the color. He suggested I try Crest Whitestrips. I did. I wasn’t seeing much difference on any of the teeth, but I did eventually notice that my injured tooth started aching. I stopped the whitening, but the tooth continued to ache. I went to see my dentist and he suggested I needed a root canal treatment. There was no indication other than color that this tooth was a problem before. I went to see a different dentist and he did a cold and heat test that I failed. Does this mean I need to get the root canal? Was this caused from the white strips?
Agnes
Dear Agnes,
While Crest Whitestrips do work, they are significantly weaker than professional teeth whitening, which is why you weren’t seeing much difference. It would take quite some time. I have heard of one other case where a tooth that was already distressed from a previous injury was thrown over the edge from over-the-counter whitening. You also mentioned the gum was receded, which will have left an opening for more irritation. It’s important to get this kind of treatment done under the care of a dentist.
With the tooth failing the hot/cold tests, that would be a good indication that you need a root canal treatment. I can’t say with certainty that the white strips did it, especially because I haven’t examined you, but the timing is suspicious.
Your dentist did you a disservice by suggesting teeth whitening to begin with. The only thing teeth whitening can do is whiten your teeth evenly. That means the dark tooth will still be darker than the remainder of the teeth. There are solutions but they need to be handled by an expert cosmetic dentist. I would not ask your dentist about this. If he doesn’t understand how teeth whitening works, then he will not be able to recommend or do the more advanced procedures.
After you have the root canal treatment done, I would visit with some dentists who regularly do cosmetic dentistry work. Be sure to check out their smile gallery to see what type of results they get.
This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.
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