New Orleans porcelain crowns Archives - Dr. Duane Delaune's Blog

My teeth are stained by tetracycline. My dentist is recommending crowns for my front teeth, but I am wondering if teeth whitening will help. If not, what are my options? – Beverly

Beverly – It’s best to avoid having crowns placed on your teeth. There are two other ways to handle the tetracycline stains.

Tetracycline is a powerful antibiotic that treats certain infections, and it can be life-saving. It can also treat acne. If tetracycline is taken while your teeth are still developing, it will deposit in your teeth and darken them. You’ll have gray or brown stains in your teeth. Sometimes the color of tetracycline stains presents itself as horizontal bands on the teeth.

One way to cover the stains is with porcelain veneers. But porcelain veneers are quite thin, and to get beautiful results without the dark stains showing through requires the expertise of a cosmetic dentist. Perhaps that’s why your dentist wants to use crowns instead. You can get beautiful results from a cosmetic dentist who understands the techniques required to give the veneers the right color and translucency, and who works with an expert dental laboratory technician.

The KöR Deep Bleaching System is a second way to treat the tetracycline stains. Many dentists say that teeth whitening will not budge tetracycline stains, but KöR deep bleaching has proven effective on these stains. See an example in the before-and-after photographs below.

This blog is sponsored by New Orleans cosmetic dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

I’ve been planning to have my teeth bleached this fall, but I had an accident that broke more than half of one of my front teeth. Now I need a porcelain crown. Does it matter which I have done first—the crown or the teeth bleaching? – Donna P. from River Ridge

Donna – Yes, it does make a difference which treatment you have done first. If you want whiter teeth, they should be bleached first.Then, the porcelain crown will be matched to your whiter teeth. If you get the crown first, when your teeth are bleached, they will be whiter than the crown.The crown will be noticeable—not natural looking—and you’ll likely want a new crown.

You need a waiting period between your teeth whitening and the placement of the crown. When your teeth are bleached, the color will stabilize in about two weeks. So wait for the entire two weeks to pass before attempting to match the porcelain crown to your bleached teeth.

You’ll save time and money if you have your teeth bleached first, wait two weeks for the color to stabilize, and then receive a porcelain crown.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans cosmetic dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Will teeth whitening help tetracycline stained teeth?

Should I get my teeth bleached before I get a porcelain crown?