How to Whiten Porcelain Veneers?
So a common question that we get in our HVS office is this: “Once I have porcelain veneers can I whiten them?” and the answer is unfortunately no. Porcelain is like fine china, once we pick the color it doesn’t discolor or change over a period of time. Veneers can get a surface stain like from normal eating and things like that, but that’s easily polished away. The underlying force won’t change colors, so if you noticed that your porcelain veneers have started to discolor over a period of time really one of two things have happened. Either the tooth behind it has started to change colors which are very unlikely, or the veneer has started to break down and it’s starting to actually leak from underneath and you’re seeing discoloration that’s occurring between the veneer and the tooth.
Interested to find out how long porcelain veneers last? Find here!
One of the kinds of questions we also get here at Hidden Valley Smiles is this: “If I don’t like these can I take them off or can they be removed”? Well, porcelain veneers can be removed, however, if your particular situation required that we do some reduction to the teeth then you’ll always need porcelain veneer or some type of restoration on that tooth. If however, you had a no-prep veneer which means that no reduction to the tooth was done that veneer can be removed. Now, when we remove it there is some amount of polishing that has to be done to the enamel to get that area smooth again. Unfortunately, not everybody is a candidate for a no-prep veneer. Depending on the alignment and the color and the desired result some people can have it and some people can’t. We will use our clinical expertise to help you decide if you’re a good candidate to have a no-prep veneer and if you are then obviously that’s our choice because it gives us the most options in the future. Another common question that we get is this: “If I don’t like it, can I just take them off?” Well, the answer is that it depends on what type of veneer we had to place. If it’s a traditional or minimal-prep veneer then no they’re not an irreversible procedure. You’re always going to have a veneer on that tooth. We always encourage our patients to be fully aware that when you do this change it’s for a lifetime and we want it to be beautiful and we’re gonna help.
Interested to learn more about how to care of your porcelain veneers? Read our article now!