30 Mar Can I Get My Teeth Whitened If I Have Crowns?
It’s one of the questions we get asked most often, and honestly, it’s a bit tricky to answer. Can you get your teeth whitened if you have crowns? Yes. Will the whitening treatment work on crowns? No.
Whitening treatments only work on natural tooth enamel. They have no effect on restorations like inlays, onlays, fillings, or crowns. To get effects that look consistent, you may need to get your restorations replaced.
Is There Any Way to Whiten Crowns?
No. Not even the strongest, professional-strength whitening treatments can lighten dental crowns. The peroxide-based bleaching agents in whitening treatments are designed to penetrate the tooth enamel and break up organic stains. But this method only works on natural teeth.
It doesn’t matter whether your crown is porcelain-fused-to-metal, all-ceramic, or zirconia. The whitening chemistry simply doesn’t work on crowns. So if you do decide to get your teeth whitened, your natural teeth will get brighter while your crowns stay exactly the same shade.
Depending on how old your crowns are, the contrast after whitening can be surprisingly obvious. But don’t worry. Even if you have restorations, you still can still get a perfect smile.
How to Get a Whiter Smile When You Have Crowns
Bleaching won’t change a crown’s base color, but professional cleaning and polishing can remove surface stains from coffee, wine, or nicotine.
If your crowns are on the back molars, they probably aren’t very noticeable. You can go ahead with a whitening treatment and the teeth that show when you smile will look perfect and pearly white.
If you need any new crowns or restorations, think about getting your teeth whitened first. That way your restorations will be lighter and you can match that shade in the future if you ever need another whitening treatment.
If your crowns are more than 8 years old, it may be time to replace them anyway. Whiten your teeth to the desired shade first, and then your dentist can match your new crowns to that color.
Cosmetic Dentistry in Sun Lakes, Arizona
You can get your teeth whitened if I have crowns, but you might need to get a few restorations replaced if you want to make your smile as perfect as possible.
If you’ve been wondering whether professional teeth whitening is the right move, come to Saba and Chiapetti Dental Associates for an exam. We’ll go over all your options and explain exactly what the process actually involves before you commit to treatment. Contact us to make an appointment at our Sun Lakes office today.
Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 3/19/26.