Whitening teeth that have a combination of bonding and a crown.

[steevio_uk]

Hi there. Cracking site by the way...

I have had various work done on my teeth in the past, including a crown as one of my top main teeth and bonding on my other front 3 top teeth, which is covering various pits and cracks.
There are 2 main issues...
I imagine this bonding would have to be removed in order to achieve consistent, uniform whitening. And also, the main crown would have to be replaced.

Now, seeing as there would have to be cosmetic work re-done on the removed bonding and practically a new tooth (a lumineer would not be wise, seeing as the current crown is 10 years old) what would you suggest is the best long term option, at the most reasonable price, to overhaul.

Also, on my bottom teeth, I have developed a few solid thin dark marks. They don't appear to be gradual stains, but more solid.

I understand it's difficult to give a best response to something so general, but any insight you have would be great!

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

Teeth whitening only whitens enamel and so it will have no effect on bonding or crowns. Just replacing your crown with a single lumineer will not look good, as it will more than likely not match your other teeth in colour. Although it will be the cheapest option.

For a good cosmetic result, you could:

1. Whiten your other teeth and replace your bondings with new bonding and replace your crown with a new all ceramic crown.
2. Whiten your other teeth and replace your bondings with porcelain veneers and replace your crown with a new all ceramic crown.
3. Whiten your other teeth and replace your bondings with lumineers and replace your crown with a new lumineer 360 crown.

I dont know if your teeth have been prepared or not before bonding. If they have been prepared down to dentine, then it could become very sensitive if the bondings are removed pre-whitening and dentine will not whiten with teeth whitening anyway. If they are pure addition bondings to enamel, then you could remove them if you want and have the enamel underneath whitened with teeth whitening.


With your bottom teeth as much as possible try to have conservative treatments such as teeth whitening or composite bonding for them. Porcelain veneers involve tooth shaving and lower front teeth dont have that much tooth tissue in the first place and so can become sensitive when they are cut back for veneers.