How to Whiten Tooth Veneers

Tooth veneers are porcelain shells that are bonded to the front sides of teeth for aesthetic purposes. The veneers can correct the image of chipped or misaligned teeth by giving the illusion of a fully-formed tooth from a frontal view. The porcelain in tooth veneers is designed to match the color of the teeth, but the veneers can become discolored over time. While whitening a veneer itself is sometimes difficult since the porcelain will not respond to whitening products, it is possible to create the image of a lighter veneer by treating the tooth underneath it.

Things You'll Need

• Cosmetic toothpaste
• Whitening toothpaste

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Instructions

• 1

  Brush veneers with a cosmetic toothpaste. It is not available in stores but can be purchased from a cosmetic dentist. The toothpaste is specially designed to remove pellicle, which is the material that attracts staining around the veneer edges. Pellicle is formed from materials in saliva that are absorbed into the tooth surface at the edges of the veneer. This results in the staining and the beginning of plaque formation.

• 2

  Brush the backside of the teeth with a tooth-whitening toothpaste. The toothpaste can permeate the tooth from the rear and result in whitening under the veneer in the front as well. Since veneers are generally translucent, they will appear lighter as the tooth under them is whitened.

• 3

  Visit a cosmetic dentist to have veneers professionally polished. This will remove stains and help prevent new ones from forming.