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Cosmetic and
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dentistry

Why Has My Smile Makeover Lost its Shine?

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I am planning on asking my cosmetic dentist the same question I am asking you, but want to go into the appointment with as much knowledge as possible. Just over six months ago I had a total smile makeover done on my upper teeth with porcelain veneers. For the bottom teeth, we just did teeth whitening. I chose my cosmetic dentist very carefully and he is one of the tops in the field. The smile makeover itself was stunning and I was thrilled with the results. It cost me quite a bit of money, but I have looked at it as an investment. I’ve been very diligent with my oral hygiene as I want this to last for many years to come. My routine consists of brushing twice a day with Crest 3D Glamorous White Toothpaste, flossing once a day, and then rinsing with Listerine Whitening 6 in one with Fluoride. Despite all this effort, my porcelain veneers have lost their shine. Now they look quite dull instead of having the lovely sheen they had when I first came home with them. I went online where someone suggested I use baking soda. I did, but did not see any improvement. Can you help me here?

Samantha

Dear Samantha,

Woman with a beautiful smile

I am delighted to hear that you were satisfied with your smile makeover and that you are striving to take such good care of it. Let’s start with what you are using to care for your smile. Both the toothpaste and the mouthwash you are using can cause some minor damage to your porcelain veneers. Nothing to the extent you are describing, but they will contribute. Typical whitening toothpaste at the stores rely on abrasives to remove the stains on your teeth. With porcelain veneers, these abrasives will scratch the veneer and eventually, leave it very susceptible to staining. Listerine, like most mouthwashes, contains alcohol. This will also damage the veneer, but it mostly damages the bonding materials.

As I mentioned before, this isn’t really enough to lead to the amount to anything significant this quickly, I can think of two things that would result in the damage you are describing. The first is if your dentist provided you with composite veneers instead of porcelain veneers. While porcelain is extraordinarily stain-resistant, even more so than your natural teeth.  Composite, however, picks up stains quite easily. You said you researched your dentist quite carefully, so I am not inclined to think this is the issue. It would take a very unethical dentist to place composite veneers but call them porcelain.

A second possibility is that your hygienist used something on your porcelain veneers that damaged the glazing. A couple of things you need to avoid during your cleaning/checkup appointments are the power prophy jet and the acidulated fluoride. If you go to a practice that does a lot of cosmetic work, the staff should be well trained enough to know this, but it is always possible you had someone new.

Your dentist can repair this. He should do so at his cost. Once they have that shine again, I want to make sure you have the right toothpaste to care for them. If you want a whitening toothpaste, the only one I recommend for people who have had any type of cosmetic work, especially a complete smile makeover, is to get SuperSmile Toothpaste. This is specially formulated to work with cosmetic procedures. There are no abrasives at all. Instead, it uses knowledge of chemical binding to remove the stains on your veneers. It is 100% safe. As for mouthwash, you can forgo it altogether or look for one that does not contain alchohol.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michasel Weiss.

 

Mouthwash with Porcelain Veneers

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I have porcelain veneers that I really love and I want to take good care of them. I am doing a DIY mouthwash to be safe and want to make sure there are not any ingredients that can hurt my veneers. Here is my recipe:

4 oz. boiled wather

4 oz. hydrogen peroxide

1 T. sea salt

Will this be safe?

Ken

Dear Ken,

a porcelain veneer being placed on a tooth

I love to hear when patients are happy with their smile makeovers and how well they are caring for their teeth as a result. The ingredients you mentioned will not harm your veneers. However, I would be cautious with using it every day.

Peroxide is great about getting rid of bacteria. The only problem is it is non-discriminating as to which types of bacteria it kills. This means it will take away some of the good bacteria your mouth needs. That can lead to a candida infection for you.

Periodic use, about once a week, and you should be fine. Much more than that and you will risk that yeast growing in your mouth.

Over the Counter Products that Can Damage Porcelain Veneers

There are two main types of products to beware of that can do damage to your lovely porcelain veneers. The first is whitening toothpaste. These kinds of toothpaste typically contain an abrasive to scrub the stains off your teeth. The only problem is they will damage your teeth in the process by putting micro scratches on the surfaces of both your natural tooth structure and your porcelain veneers, this will cause them to pick up stains because they will lose some of their protective glaze.

If you really feel you need a whitening toothpaste, I recommend you get Supersmile Toothpaste. This is specifically designed for cosmetic work and will keep your veneers, as well as your natural teeth, shiny and damage free.

The second is over-the-counter mouthwash. Most of these contain alcohol. This is the one ingredient you want to avoid as it will eat away at the bonding that keeps the veneers on your teeth. I believe Colgate has an alcohol free mouthwash, but I would double-check to make sure the ingredients haven’t changed.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

 

Dental Bonding Staining

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I have dental composite bonding on all my front teeth. I have them re-done every three or four years. This latest set is only six months old and is starting to look yellow. Can this be polished to look right again or do I have to re-do them early? What would cause this to happen so quickly?

Priscilla

Dear Priscilla

Whether or not these can be polished to get rid of the stains depends on the nature of the staining itself. Unlike porcelain, which is hard and very stain resistant, composite dental bonding is fairly soft and is susceptible to two different types of staining.

Dental Bonding Staining One

an image of dental bonding on teeth stained by scratches

This first type of staining is surface stains. It happens because of tiny scratches on the bonding which allow it to pick up stains that are trapped there. You can tell these front teeth have been scratched because they’ve lost their glossy finish, instead they look matte. If you look at the adjacent natural teeth, they still have a gloss to them.

The good news is this type of staining can be fixed. If your dentist thoroughly polishes them, it will remove the scratches and stains, all while bringing the gloss back.

Dental Bonding Staining Two

Teeth with the two front teeth having stained dental bonding

Composite bonding is made from a solution of inorganic filler particles such as quartz or glass bound together in a plastic matrix. Because of that, it will absorb stains into its actual material. For instance, if you drink a lot of staining beverages, such as coffee or tea, it will penetrate the plastic and become a part of the bonding structure.

The picture above is a good example of this. Notice the two front teeth are much more stained than the surrounding teeth. This is absorbed staining. You can tell that (as opposed to scratch staining) because the teeth still have their shiny gloss. Notice the adjacent teeth, though stained, aren’t as stained as the bonded teeth. This is because your natural teeth are less susceptible to staining than composite bonding.

Unfortunately, this has to be re-done. There is no way to polish this out. Teeth whitening won’t work either. It will only whiten natural tooth structure. If that is the case, I’m going to highly suggest you switch to porcelain veneers on your teeth. Yes, veneers are more expensive initially. However, you are re-doing these every few years. Great porcelain veneers can last upwards of twenty plus years. They’re much more stain-resistant than bonding. In fact, they’re even more stain-resistant than your natural teeth.

Keeping Dental Bonding Stain-Free

1. Start with the right materials. You want to go to a skilled cosmetic dentist. They are more likely to stock microfill composite. This is possible to get polished completely giving it a high gloss and helping it resist stains.

Most general dentists just keep a generic composite which will never completely polish up to the gloss you need.

2. Avoid abrasive materials. I recommend anyone who has cosmetic work use Supersmile toothpaste. It’s specifically designed to chemically remove stains, instead of doing it with abrasives the way most toothpaste works.

3. Avoid staining beverages. If you must drink them, try not to let it sit on your teeth. Swallow immediately.

4. Make sure your hygienist doesn’t use anything like a prophy jet or pumice on your bonded teeth. It will destroy the glazing.

I hope this helps. Seriously consider switching to porcelain veneers.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.