Mismatched Crown and Whitening not working at all, why?

Joined
Feb 19, 2023
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Hello, I recently got a crown on a dental implant. It is quite pale color compared to my teeth around it. I decided to try and lighten my other teeth to match it. I tried Opalescence go 15% trays and did the whole box of 10 trays. Though they burned my gums and made white patches on them, and made a few temporary very pale white spots on my teeth, there was no color change at all to the main part of my teeth. I also used and went through a whole Colgate whitening pen, taking about a month, with no change whatsoever. I don't drink tea, coffee, red wine, or dark juice, and I don't smoke. I am wondering why the whitening isn't working, and wonder if I might have thin enamel and the yellow dentin showing through? When I was a kid I saw a dentist who polished my teeth with gritty paste every time, and one time a big chunk of my enamel broke off the next day. I also had braces, and after those I got a hole in my enamel which wasn't a cavity, which I had to get filled, and I am sure all the etching, and grinding off the glue, and buffing wasn't good for my enamel. My teeth do have a very shiny finish too, so I am kind of suspicious this could the cause of whitening products not working. Or maybe these products just aren't any good? I would be very grateful to anyone who can give me any advice, thank you!
 

MattKW

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Well, it would've been a lot easier to have the mismatched crown changed over.
Teeth are not a simple shade but made up of value, chroma, and hue. There have been many systems trying to give an approximation, the most common of which is the Vita Classic. For example, using this guide, if you have a C4 (grey) tooth, then whitening will generally only change it to a C2 or C1 at best; it'll still appear greyish.
Whitening toothpastes will only remove simple stains, like tea or red wine - they will not change the internal colour of teeth. Whitening gels like Opalescence may whiten your teeth, but usually only if you are in the A or B shades.
I'd go back to the dentist and ask what he can offer you. If it's a screw-in crown, then he might have it remade at minimal cost to you if he's a decent bloke.
 

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MattKW

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It's the 2nd premolar. I'd be surprised if anyone of your close friends would see it during a normal conversation unless you pulled your lip down and pointed it out. If it was any further forward then it would be a bit more noticeable.
Is it worth complaining about it? If it was in my mouth, I probably would say something about it, but I wouldn't be bothered to ask for a change. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - everyone sees things differently.
 

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Joined
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Thanks so much for your reply and for helping me! I had considered complaining about the color of the crown and had spoken to a telehealth dentist and shown him a picture, and he told me the appearance of the crown was "average" and it was not worth me complaining to my dentist which is why I was trying this other approach. Though this crown appears far back, it does show when I smile so I am bothered by it. Would you be willing let me know what you think of it's appearance and if you would say it would be worth complaining after seeing it?
IMG_7804 crop.jpeg
IMG_7833 crop.jpeg
 

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Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
5
It's the 2nd premolar. I'd be surprised if anyone of your close friends would see it during a normal conversation unless you pulled your lip down and pointed it out. If it was any further forward then it would be a bit more noticeable.
Is it worth complaining about it? If it was in my mouth, I probably would say something about it, but I wouldn't be bothered to ask for a change. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - everyone sees things differently.
Thanks so much for your advice, I will do what you said. I will say something about it. Maybe what I will say is just ask the dentist what I should do about it. The whole situation with the color was a bit strange, color was never discussed during an appointment, and as I was heading out the door from the impression appointment, a front desk person called me back and said the dental assistant wanted me to go to a "custom shade" appointment, which meant I had to go to the lab and the lab person picked the color with a Shade Guide like the one you linked to with no discussion with me about the color. I asked the lab person if I had to go in person because I had particularly unusual colored teeth and they told me that going in person meant the dentist couldn't figure out the color themself, but my dentist never said a word to me about it, or tried with a Shade Guide or anything like that. Thanks again for helping me with this! You have been very kind!
 

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