I’m about to have a few dental crowns done and am hoping to touch up my teeth whitening before then. I have my previous whitening trays. I asked my dentist how long I’d have to whiten to get them where they were before getting my dental crowns, but he didn’t have an answer for me. Do you have any tips? I believe the whitening gel he uses is a 30% concentration.
Annie
Dear Annie,
I’m actually surprised and a little bit concerned that your dentist could not answer your question. It’s fairly basic. How long you whiten is a matter of a a couple of factors:
- How white you want them.
- How long you are able to wear the trays each day.
The basic principle is that the longer you can wear the teeth whitening trays, the faster they will whiten. Wearing them overnight will go significantly faster than only being able to wear them for twenty minutes a day.
One thing you didn’t ask, that will be important is the time between stopping your whitening and getting your dental crowns done. After you stop using the gel, your teeth will continue to whiten for one to two weeks. So, I would wait that amount of time before going in to get your dental crowns designed.
I mentioned earlier that I’m a bit concerned your dentist could not answer this. The principles of teeth whitening are among the simplest in cosmetic dentistry. Placing a crown on a front tooth is much more challenging. If that is what you’re needing, I’m worried your dentist isn’t up to the task.
My recommendation, if that is what you are getting, is that you make sure he agrees to do a temporary try-in of your crown. There are temporary try-in glues, that will allow you to look at the dental crown in your mouth, without it being permanently bonded on. Then, if you’re not thrilled with how it looks and blends in, he should be willing to send it back to the lab and make changes. And, he should be willing to do this as often as it takes. Even the best cosmetic dentists often need two to three try ins on a front tooth.
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