Care of Cosmetic Dental Work
Cosmetic dental work often involves a substantial
investment, and may require special maintenance to help keep it looking its
best. Dr. Hall, as a cosmetic dentist with over twenty years experience in the
field, has some valuable insights into keeping your dental work looking great
for years and years.
Professional Care
Some professional maintenance procedures that are used
typically on natural teeth or metal restorations can ruin the beauty of
all-ceramic or composite esthetic work. Be sure that your dental office
understands these "no-no's" and "do's":
 | Power polishing equipment, such as the Prophy-Jet®,
which creates a powerful spray of sodium bicarbonate to clean your teeth, does
nicely for natural teeth, but it will roughen the surface of porcelain or
composite and make it stain more easily.
Porcelain crowns or porcelain veneers will look great at the end of the
appointment, but in a few weeks you'll notice the rapid
deterioration in
appearance. |
| Regular pumice polish, used
routinely by hygienists to remove the protein pellicle layer from teeth, will
scratch composite bonding. Even for durable porcelain veneers, the pumice will
scratch and erode the composite that holds the veneer to the tooth and cause
it to deteriorate prematurely. Hygienists should use a fine aluminum oxide
polishing agent to polish cosmetic dental work. |
| Fluoride treatments have to be
done carefully. Many hygienists and dental assistants, and even some dentists,
don't understand the difference between acidulated and neutral
fluoride, in how it affects cosmetic work. The acid in acidulated fluoride
is hydrofluoric acid, which has the property of etching porcelain and
the tiny glass particles in many composites, and thus it will make them more
susceptible to staining. It can also actually remove the color from some
porcelain crowns! If you have any fluoride treatment after cosmetic dental
work, be sure that the fluoride used is a neutral fluoride. It isn't as
strong, but it will protect your investment in dental work. |
| Ultrasonic scalers, if used at the
margins of porcelain or composite cosmetic work, can chip the margins and spoil
the appearance, and possibly make
the tooth more susceptible to recurrent decay. |
| If a porcelain crown or bonding
does get looking lackluster or starts staining, there are polishing techniques
that can bring the luster back. A dentist or hygienist specially trained in
cosmetic work can bring the shine back. |
| When you have porcelain veneers,
mynewsmile.com recommends extra maintenance polishing appointments - two
extra appointments per year
- to keep the shine at its maximum, especially at the critical bond area
between the tooth and the veneer. |
Home Care
Here's your list of "do's" and "don'ts" for home care:
| The biggest "no-no" is heavy, frequent alcohol
consumption. If you consume large quantities of alcohol daily, the alcohol
tends to dissolve bonding or the composite luting material that holds the
porcelain to the tooth. Within a period of a couple of years, you could
completely ruin the dental work. So, watch your alcohol consumption. Moderate
amounts won't have a noticeable effect. Beware, also, of alcohol-containing
mouthwashes. Read the list of ingredients on any mouthwash. |
| Regular toothpastes can be too abrasive for cosmetic dental
work. We recommend Supersmile toothpaste, because it is very gentle—it has powerful stain-removing
properties, but it removes stains by dissolving them
rather than by physical abrasive action. See our page on this site about Supersmile®
toothpaste. It isn't available from stores. Rembrandt® toothpaste has an aluminum oxide abrasive that is very
gentle and is also safe for any cosmetic dental work, though it isn't as
effective at stain removal. We have some general information about
whitening toothpaste that may
also interest you. |
| Don't subject your teeth to sharp
impacts or hard objects. Don't bite pins, nails, or staples. Don't grind your
teeth. If you tend to grind at night, get a nightguard to protect your teeth.
If you engage in contact sports, wear an appropriate athletic mouthguard. |
| Floss and brush your teeth
carefully. While the porcelain or bonding work is immune to decay, the part of
your teeth not covered by the cosmetic work is still susceptible to
tooth decay.
You can still get cavities with veneers or bonding or
crowns.
Keep it clean and it will stay decay-free and protect your investment. |
| Watch snacking! This is very important.
Between-meal snacking is the single biggest factor in promoting decay.
Many dental professionals don't even understand this,
but this has been solidly established by scientific studies. If
you are a constant snacker, you feed your plaque bacteria all day long,
regardless of your excellent brushing habits. The best thing you can do to prevent decay, the deterioration
of your teeth and the dental work, is to limit your eating to your basic three
meals a day and maybe a couple of snacks. |
Links to other information about maintenance of
cosmetic dental work:
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The listings below are paid advertisements and should not be confused with the recommended dentists we list in our "find a cosmetic dentist" section:
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