Dental crowns are a type of artificial tooth used to restore a patient’s health after various types of damage. If a tooth has a large cavity, needs a root canal, or is severely cracked, a dental crown can be placed on top to help strengthen the tooth and give you back a fully functional and beautiful smile.
Dental crowns can be made from various materials:
- Porcelain
- Porcelain fused with metal
- Gold
- Zirconium
Crowns are designed to match your teeth perfectly, which means the shape, size, and color of the tooth will help the crown seamlessly blend in with your natural teeth. But over time, you may notice that the dental crown no longer matches the color of your teeth, leading to an imbalanced smile.
Why Do Dental Crowns Change Their Color?
Dental crowns are not the ones that change their shade - your natural teeth did. Crowns do not suffer from sitting or discoloration, but over time your natural teeth can be impacted by your food and drink choices.
When your teeth change their shades and the crown remains the same, you are left with a bit of a mismatch in your smile. Unfortunately, even if you apply a whitening solution, the crown itself will not change its color at all.
Whitening agents do not affect porcelain, zirconium, or other materials from the crown.
How Can You Regain a Beautiful Smile?
You have three options:
1. Whiten Your Teeth Before the Crown is Made
you need a dental crown, it may be a good time to whiten your teeth before having it cemented. Your Tacoma dentists can apply the whitening solution and get your smile to the desired color, after which your crown will be made in a whiter shade to match.
2. Whiten Your Teeth and Change Your Crown
If you already have a dental crown, then you will need to switch it out and get a new one if you want to whiten your teeth. It’s important to design the crown only after you finish your whitening treatment, to make sure the new artificial tooth will be a perfect match.
3. Get a Professional Dental Cleaning
In some cases, you may not be experiencing discoloration, but staining. Professional dental cleanings can help you remove stains from teeth, which often makes the teeth look whiter, even if no brightening agents have been applied.
This can help restore your smile’s look, but not always. It generally depends on the extent of the staining, and whether your teeth have been discolored or not.
Want to Enhance Your Smile? We Can Help!
Though you can’t whiten crowns, it doesn’t mean you can’t get the smile you’ve always wanted. Rainier Smiles Dentistry provides several treatment options designed to enhance the look of your teeth and care for your oral health.
Book an appointment with Dr. Steve Hong online.