Shine Gone from My Porcelain Veneers
Posted by writeradmin
I need some help. I had porcelain veneers done. When I first got them, they were very shiny and my teeth looked beautiful and white. In recent weeks, the shine has disappeared. Now the teeth are getting stained. Can I whiten them to get the color and shine back?
Amelia
Dear Amelia,
If the shine has gone on your porcelain veneers, it means the glaze was damaged. This can happen a few ways. First, if you were using a typical over-the-counter whitening toothpaste, these use abrasives to whiten your teeth. I never recommend them for either cosmetic work or natural tooth structure because the abrasives damage the surface. This will cause them to start picking up stains.
Other things that can damage your porcelain veneers can happen at a dental check-up if your hygienist hasn’t been trained on cleaning dental work. You never want them to use either acidulated fluoride or a power prophy jet. Both of those will cause damage. In the case of the latter, it will take the glaze off completely.
While teeth whitening will remove any recent surface stains you have, it will not solve the problem. Without that glaze, you are going to be constantly getting stains and your teeth will not look good. Also, bear in mind that teeth whitening will only work where the glaze is gone because it only works on natural tooth structure.
If your dentist caused this problem by using one of the things I mentioned, they need to repair or replace the veneers. If it is something you did, you can also get them repaired or replaced, but you will need to pay for that. I’d start with a diamond polishing paste that can get the shine back. That’s much less costly than replacing them.
As a side note, if you want a whitening toothpaste that is safe for both natural teeth as well as cosmetic work, I recommend Supersmile Whitening Toothpaste. They use a chemical that is safe for teeth to remove stains. You can get it on Amazon.
This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.