I am concerned about something. My dentist cannot seem to match my dental crown to the rest of my teeth. He said it is because they are more white than natural teeth. Does teeth whitening make them unnaturally white? I did go to a different dentist to get some Zoom Whitening done. If my teeth are too white, what do I do about matching dental work to my smile?
Carolyn
Dear Carolyn,
I am glad you wrote. The short answer to your question is “yes” teeth whitening can get your teeth whiter than natural teeth. However, that does not mean that you cannot get your crown to match your white teeth.
Old Shade Guide
When dentists match a dental crown to the adjacent teeth, they use a color guide to help them get close in color. The one pictured above is the old shade guide that was used for many years. Then, teeth whitening gained popularity and dentists started having patients come in with teeth whiter than the whitest shade on their shade guide.
Newer Shade Guide
To compensate for that, the companies that produce the shade guides updated the shades to reflect the new whiter shades that dentists were seeing in order to make it easier for them to match their dental work to their patient’s natural teeth. I’ve pasted an example of one of the newer, extended shade guides directly above.
Your dentist must not do much cosmetic work, because it sounds like he only has the old shade guide. Cosmetic dentists will have the newer shade guide. If your dentist cannot match your crown it is perfectly fine to switch to a dentist who can.
This blog is brought to you by Parma Ridge Dentist Dr. Gecovich.