can you bleach a dead discoloured single tooth?

Q. Dear Dr. Patel Two years ago on holiday i cracked my canine tooth on popcorn and unfortunately the nerve died. On return from my holiday the tooth was assessed and root canal treatment was performed. My dentist felt that the crack wasn’t bad enough for the tooth to be crowned and commented that the canine tooth was a strong tooth so it should be fine. As the tooth has died it is a couple of shades darker than the rest of my teeth and i would like to ask your advice if a single dead tooth could be bleached. What would my options involve. Thank you for your time in advance.

A. Dear L

When a tooth has root canal treatment it can darken with time. This is often due to bacterial waste products still present in the tooth. The first thing I would recommend is assessment of the root canal filling and the filling sealing the tooth. Once these are okay a process call internal tooth whitening can be carried out to whiten the tooth. The other options would be a porcelain veneer or crown to cover the tooth.

I hope this helps

Dr Riten Patel The Mulberry 18 Ashley Road, Walton on Thames Surrey, KT12 1HS Web: www.mulberrydental.co.uk Tel: 01932 223 479 View My Profile Dr Patel
February 5th, 2010 at 08:47 PM
katie Says :

if your are on benefits is it free to get a crown if your tooth that is visible needs to come out. i dont want to look stupid

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