I am new to my area due to getting transferred. I’ve always whitened my teeth once every two years and they are very white. With the transfer and the pandemic, I haven’t had time to find a new dentist and recently fell and chipped a tooth. I went to a dentist someone at work recommended. He told me I’d need to get a crown on the tooth to repair it. The problem I am having is getting the crown to match. I’ve asked him to send it back to make it whiter as it is obviously darker than my teeth, but he insists this is the whitest shade and showed me a shade guide to prove it. I’m having a hard time believing that people who whiten their teeth never need dental crowns. Is there no way to make my dental work match my whitened teeth?

Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

I think what you are up against is your bread and butter family dentist versus a true cosmetic dentist. While there is not a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry, there are dentists who have invested a significant amount of more time in cosmetic training than others. Dentists who invest in this training know things your average dentist doesn’t. One of those things is the tools available to match dental work. Your dentist is probably using the old color shade guide (pictured above).

That particular shade guide worked for many years. But, then teeth whitening gained in popularity this shade guide became outdated. Teeth were now whiter than the whitest shade on the guide. To respond to this need, I new shade guide was developed. This one had much whiter shades that dentists can use to match to the needed dental work. This shade guide (pictured directly below) has whiter options.

You did not say where the tooth was, but my guess. is it is a front tooth. This is even more challenging. To be quite frank, I don’t think your dentist is up to the task. The front teeth are the most visible because the light hits them directly, exposing all the variations and subtleties of the teeth. Even expert cosmetic dentists will take one or two try-ins before getting it right. If he does not even have the right shade guide, then he will not be able to match a crown to a front tooth which will need specific additional instructions to the ceramist. In your place, I would look for a dentist recommended on the mynewsmile.com website. These are among the best cosmetic dentists in the country.

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