Dr. Mike Malone’s Blog

Will Crest Whitestrips (or any other over-the-counter whitening product) damage my porcelain veneers? I had porcelain veneers placed on my teeth a couple of years ago, and while the veneers still look fantastic my other teeth have yellowed quite a bit. It is pretty noticeable, since I got the veneers to match my then freshly-whitened teeth.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Antonio in Chicago

Dear Antonio,

The only kind of over-the-counter whitening products I would recommend in your case would be Crest Whitestrips, or some other version of that product produced by another manufacturer. The whitening agent, peroxide gel, is held to the teeth by the strips so the can penetrate the tooth structure and whiten the teeth. Be extremely cautious about the product you select–some products have acid that etches the enamel of the teeth, after which you apply a white pigment. These products do give the appearance of a temporary whitening, but will ultimately allow more stains to adhere to the teeth via the damage to the enamel of the teeth.

There is a problem with Whitestrips in your case as well. The strips are designed to cover only the front six teeth, so to use them, you will have to trim the strips themselves. That is quite a lot of messing around, especially when you consider that it may take several applications to get the degree of whiteness you want. By the time you purchase all the kits, you may very well wind up spending as much as you would just getting the professional teeth whitening done at your dentist’s office.

In your shoes, I would likely go to an office to get the the whitening done. In the end, you’ll probably spend about the same amount of money, and you will save quite a lot of time.

I hope this was helpful.

I went to see my dentist because one of my molars had suddenly become really sensitive to everything, even air. It is winter here, and when the cold wind blew into my mouth it really hurt! Hot food or drinks were bothering it, too.

Anyway, my dentist diagnosed the problem in like two seconds, and I am kind of wondering how accurate that diagnosis can be. He is always in a really big hurry, and this time was no exception. He rushed in, barely listened to what I was telling him, then started squirting my tooth with air while asking impatiently if it hurt. Then he put some “desensitizing bonding agent” on the tooth, and the pain went away, and he said that it should heal on its own, then he was gone. I only know what he put on it because I asked the hygienist.

The tooth in question has a really large white filling, and when I went in I wondered if that was the problem. Could he really do a thorough diagnosis like I described? I could really use some advice.

Brent in Minneapolis

Dear Brent,

Sometimes it really is quite easy to diagnose pain issues, and from what you’ve written, yours fell into the easy-to-diagnose category. An unprotected, sensitive spot on a tooth will react to blown air with pain, and a desensitizing agent will help with that. If the pain only lasts for a moment and then goes away, that is an indication that the irritated nerve or pulp of your tooth has the chance of healing on its own. If the pain had lingered, your dentist would probably have recommended a root canal procedure, as that would have indicated irreversible damage and a need to remove the nerve.

The real issue here is that you do not trust your dentist. Your letter indicates that you do not appreciate your dentist’s abrupt manner, but more seriously, you do not trust him to provide you with thorough, careful dental care. Good dental care requires trust.

If you want to try and salvage this professional relationship, I would recommend an honest conversation with your dentist. If he responds with impatience or acts annoyed, I think you will have to find a new dentist.