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3 Tips To Ensure Your Dental Crown Matches Your Whitened Teeth

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If you whiten your natural teeth on a regular basis and will soon be obtaining your first dental crown, then you may wonder how you can ensure that your new crown matches the color of your teeth now and in the future. While every dentist takes steps to match the color of a patient's crown to their natural tooth color, there are several steps you can take to help your dentist match your crown to your teeth when they are at their whitest and maintain this color at home. 

Read on to learn three tips for ensuring your dental crown matches your whitened teeth now and in the future. 

1. Whiten Teeth Two Weeks Before Choosing Crown Color

Since you want your new crown to match your teeth when they are at their whitest to avoid having a tooth that appears too dark after you whiten them, you want to carefully time your whitening session before crown placement. 

Ideally, you should whiten your teeth about two weeks before you choose your crown color. Whitening your teeth at this time helps ensure your new crown matches your teeth when they are at their whitest while providing time for tooth sensitivity to diminish before the crown is placed. 

2. Visit a Dentist Who Uses an Extended Shade Guide

To determine what crown color will match a patient's natural teeth best, most dentists use a shade guide. This device is equipped with several false teeth that are each a slightly different shade of white. The dentist compares a patient's natural teeth to this guide to determine which shade matches their teeth most closely. 

Traditional shade guides often have a limited tooth color range, which can lead to a dentist not finding a crown shade that matches a patient's whitened teeth exactly and instead choosing a shade that differs slightly To ensure that your crown shade matches your natural tooth shade as closely as possible, ask your dentist to use an extended shade guide during the color-matching process. Extended shade guides offer additional crown color options that further aid in obtaining an exact tooth color match. 

3. Remove Stains from Crowns With Special Toothpaste

Like many people who whiten their teeth on a regular basis, you may engage in bad habits that stain your teeth between whitening services, such as smoking cigarettes and/or drinking beverages that stain your teeth.

While this staining may disappear from your natural teeth when you use your usual whitening solution, these solutions do not whiten crowns. Instead, ask your dentist for a special toothpaste that removes the stain-attracting protein film. When this film is removed, stains typically disappear as well. 

If you whiten your teeth, then keep these tips in mind to help ensure your new dental crown matches your teeth immediately after placement and for years to come. Talk to a dentist for more information about dental crowns


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