I have veneers and wanted to know if over-the-counter products like Crest White Strips will ruin or damage my veneers? I’ve noticed that over time, my other teeth look yellow in comparison to my veneers and the color change is noticeable between my natural teeth and the veneers. I want to bleach my natural teeth to match the veneers but don’t want to damage the expensive veneers. What do you recommend?
– Brent from Oklahoma
Brent,
If you want to bleach your natural teeth, you may use over-the-counter whitening products such as: Crest Whitestrips and products by other manufacturers but only for limited situations. The strips hold peroxide in a gel that’s attached to the strip. When you affix the strip to your tooth, it allows the peroxide to penetrate your teeth and whiten them.
If you decide to use other products with powders, rinses or toothpastes, these won’t be that effective as they’re on the teeth briefly and don’t penetrate the teeth. Also, some of these products are acidic and etch the tooth surface. The teeth may look white for a few days but then they start attracting stains and look darker because the etched surface easily attracts stains.
The challenge when using the White Strips is that they’re designed to cover only your front six teeth so if you’re attempting to reach the natural teeth that aren’t in the front, you’ll need to cut the strips and try to fit them to your teeth that are further back. This is a hassle.
The other issue with the strips is they whiten slowly because the peroxide bleach is fairly weak as it’s sold over the counter and can’t be too strong. The strips are also expensive and may end up costing you more than if you had your teeth whitened in a dental office.
The best solution would be to see a dentist and have your teeth bleached properly. Dentists have experience with bleaching and use stronger peroxide that easily covers your teeth.
Bleach won’t harm your veneers and they won’t change color. You may notice slight lightening of your veneered teeth, but this will come from behind the tooth and won’t affect the look from the front.