When it comes to tooth restoration with fillings, many patients prefer the white materials because they look more natural, plus they do not cause your tooth to darken. If you have recently had your teeth whitened, or are considering undergoing the treatment, then you may already know that tooth whitening procedures do not work on fillings.
Whether your fillings are white or yellow, composite does not change its colour during whitening, which can be frustrating when you realise that all your teeth can get whiter with a teeth bleaching kit except your white fillings.
When you seek professional teeth whitening, it involves bleaching or lightening any stains on your natural teeth. But the composite fillings remain the same colour because they’re made out of plastic material. In case you whitened your teeth but did not like the colour of your fillings, the only option would be to replace the filling or have your dentist place dental veneers over those teeth.
In the case of whitening toothpastes, they’re not that effective in teeth whitening, and you may not even notice any change in colour or improvement on brushing alone.
One of the key reasons why you should only seek teeth whitening from a professional dentist rather than at the mall is to address issues such as these ones. If your front fillings have been in place for a long time, then the yellow colour will probably not show meaningful improvements.
On the other hand, if you have fairly new fillings, such as those that have been in place for only a few months, then it is necessary that you consult your dentist to discuss the final colour match after the cleaning. A typical appointment would involve:
- A visit to a cosmetic dentist (instead of a general dentist) as this increases your chances of getting the desired outcome in the first try.
- The start of the professional teeth whitening process, whereby you may notice a little improvement as you seek to get your teeth lightened to the exact level that you need.
- Getting the old fillings removed and replaced with those of the new lighter colour.
When you decide to whiten, the first thing you need to do is the actual tooth whitening, then wait for around two weeks before getting the filling re-done or resurfaced to match the new whiter colour of your natural teeth.
The filling doesn’t lighten, plus you have to wait a few weeks after completing the bleaching before you can get the new filling since it takes a bit of time for the colour to stabilize following bleaching. However, if you have tooth decay, the problem has to be fixed and the cavity filled before you can safely proceed with bleaching. The tooth would then require re-surfacing to ensure the colours match. If there’s no decay, you can just wait to do the filling after whitening.
Alternatively, you can opt for dental veneers to get a uniform and permanent change in tooth colour.
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