Can I whiten just one tooth?

I have a crown on one tooth. It has started picking up stains.  I have had it for quite some time, so that’s not suprise. I don’t want to pay to whiten all my teeth, just the crown, but wondered if you can just whiten one tooth?

Monica M. – Atlanta, Georgia

Monica,

When you whiten teeth, you whiten an entire arch. However, you’re not asking about a natural tooth. You’re asking about a dental crown. Unfortunately, even if you had an entire arch of dental crowns they wouldn’t respond to teeth whitening. It’s only effective on natural teeth.

The best solution, especially given the age of the crown, is for you to get it replaced. My suggestion would be to get an all-porcelain crown.  They look much more natural than the metal based counterparts.

If you’d like your teeth whitened in addition to getting your dental crown replaced, be sure to get your teeth whitened first. The have the new porcelain crown made to match your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. David Newkirk.