I have two teeth that are darker than my other teeth. One is a completely fake tooth, the other is a dental crown. I’ve whitened my teeth over and over again, but these two teeth are still darker than the others. What is the problem?

Sandra D. from Minneapolis.

Sandra,

There are three situations in which teeth whitening will not give you the results you are looking for. One is tetracycline stains. These are too deep and too dark. Another is when your teeth are uneven in color. Teeth whiten uniformly, so whitening them will just accentuate the differences. The third is the issue you are facing. Dental work, such as crowns, veneers, bonding, will not whiten.

To get the results you are looking for, you need to whiten all your other teeth to the color level you desire, then replace the fake tooth and porcelain crown to match them.

This blog is brought to you by Oklahoma City Dentist Dr. Don Swearingen.