Tag Archives: Supersmile toothpaste

CEREC crowns

Why Are My Crowns Turning Yellow?

I had two CEREC crowns done and am a bit frustrated. I’ve only had them a few months and they’re already picking up stains. I do drink coffee, but no one told me not to. Is this something I am going to have to give up drinking coffee? If so, I wish they would have told me that. Is there a procedure I can have that will allow me to drink coffee? Will I be able to whiten them back to their original color?

Stan

Dear Stan,

A CEREC Machine
When Should You Get a CEREC Crown?

Teeth whitening will only work on natural tooth structure, so I would not count on that to do any good. Sometimes people are told they are getting porcelain crowns, when their dentist actually gives them a composite resin. This will pick up stains very quickly. I would not think that is what happened to you because you mentioned that you had it done with CEREC crowns which mills from blocks of porcelain.

The porcelain has a protective glaze which protects it from staining. In fact, it should be more stain resistant than your natural teeth. If they are picking up stains, then something happened to damage the glazing. Some possibilities are if your hygienist used something like a power prophy jet or acidulated fluoride. If this happened then, they should bear the responsibility of repairing this.

If they didn’t do this, it is possible you used something that caused some damage to your porcelain crowns. Most whitening toothpastes use abrasives to remove the stains on your teeth. While it does remove some surface stains, the abrasives scratch both your tooth enamel as well as any dental work you have. This means they will quickly begin to pick up stains.

As for your coffee drinking, as long as you get the protective glaze back on your dental crowns, you should have no problem drinking coffee. I do recommend you use a safe whitening toothpaste, however, designed specifically for dental work. Supersmile whitening toothpaste will remove all the surface stains without causing any damage to your teeth or dental work.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Pediatric Dentistry

Discolored Baby Teeth

My five year old son has two front teeth that have become discolored. Is there something I can do? They used to be so white and beautiful. Will teeth whitening work?

Donna

Dear Donna,

Happy girl in pediatric dental chair

I don’t know of a dentist that would do teeth whitening on a child that young. In fact, he would probably resist it anyway because the whitening gel doesn’t exactly taste like a peppermint candy. Plus, he would have to keep the whitening trays on for a minimum of fifteen minutes. Good luck with that unless you want to sit by him the entire time. Additionally, messing with his teeth like that could cause them to fall out prematurely.

There is good news, though. Your son is five years old. It will only be a year or two before those front teeth fall out. Then, he will have nice shiny white adult teeth in there.

If it is surface stains and your regular toothpaste isn’t working, you could try Supersmile Toothpaste. This does a fantatic job in removing surface stains in a safe way. Do not use over-the-counter whitening toothpaste. These contain abrasives that actually damage tooth enamel, leading to more stains.

Other than that, make sure he is brushing after each meal and flossing his teeth before bed. It sounds like you really care about your son’s oral health, so you are probably already doing all of this.

Children at his age rarely pay attention to the appearance of their peer’s teeth. while kids like to make fun of each other, they are more likely to find something else to tease him about than some tooth discoloration.

If after his adult teeth come in there are still stains, then I would speak with his pediatric dentist to get to the root cause of the problem. With baby teeth, they’ll just let nature take its course.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Teeth Whitening

Crest 3D Advanced White Toothpaste Gunk

I don’t quite know how to explain this but will do my best. I’ve been wanting to whiten my teeth but thought I would just try the whitening toothpaste first to see what type of results I can get. It’s leaving this weird white gunk on the inside of my lips about ten minutes after I use it that makes it look like my skin is ready to peel off. Is this common and part of the process?

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

teeth whitening trays
Professional teeth whitening trays

Most whitening toothpaste that you purchase over the counter does not whiten your teeth the way that professional teeth whitening does. Your dentist would provide you with a gel that will penetrate the tooth and oxidize it from the inside out. Whitening toothpaste uses abrasives that scratch the surface of your teeth and scrub the surface stains off. While this can remove the stains temporarily it does damage your enamel which will cause it to pick up more stains at a faster rate.

I think the reason for the peeling skin you are experiencing is sodium lauryl sulfate, an ingredient found in this toothpaste. It has been known to produce side effects such as inflammation, skin irritation, and sloughing of oral tissues. I would stop using this because you are obviously having a reaction to it.

If you want to try a whitening toothpaste, I recommend you use Supersmile Toothpaste. This uses a protein pellicle to remove surface stains and will not damage your teeth. Bear in mind, that it will only remove surface stains, which is all that a toothpaste can do.

If you have years of stains on your teeth, you are better off with professional teeth whitening. Though it costs a little more, the results are massively better than anything else you’d get with an over the counter product, including something like whitestrips. If cost is the main issue, talk to your dentist and he or she may be willing to work with you on payment options.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.