Stains on the backs of my teeth.

Hello Dr. Hall:

I have a question about Lumineers, please. Do they cover the INSIDE of teeth (the side the tongue meets) or the outsides only? I have blackish inside teeth from too much coffee and if I do the fronts only, the insides would still be blackish. I am looking for something that treats both the insides as well as the outsides of teeth. Please advise. Thanks.

—Hal in Florida

Dear Hal,

No, Lumineers only cover the fronts of the front teeth. The same with all other porcelain veneers—only the fronts. To cover the backs also, you would need full dental crowns, which would require grinding down around the whole tooth, which seems pretty drastic a treatment just to try to get rid of tooth stains. We have a page where you can read about porcelain crowns, but I wouldn't recommend that.

I would suggest trying Supersmile whitening toothpaste first, which dissolves away the protein pellicle that the stains attach to. It could even remove the stains that you have now. I have a couple of pages on the web site that tell about Supersmile. Click the link and learn about it. My guess is that it will reduce the staining you have now but not completely eliminate them, and then, after the next time you have your dentist clean your teeth, if you start using Supersmile on a daily basis after that, it should keep the stains from forming.

I hope this is helpful.

—Dr. Hall

Read about Vivaneers, which are very similar to Lumineers.

Click here for referral to an expert cosmetic dentist.

Click here to go back to the frequent questions about cosmetic dentistry page.