Two days ago I had Zoom whitening done. It all went pretty well, and I had very little pain or sensitivity after. It didn’t burn my gums or anything like that. I was surprised because a friend of mine did experience those things, but she does have extra sensitive teeth.

But now I can’t help but notice my right front tooth, the one next to the eye tooth, is lighter than all the others! At first, I thought I was imagining things, but I’ve looked at it under different lights and it’s definitely lighter than its neighbors. I asked my wife and she can see it too.

Why would this happen? What should I do?

Thanks,
Eric

Dear Eric,

 

For those who are unfamiliar with this procedure, Zoom Whitening works by having a professional place a hydrogen peroxide based gel on the teeth, which is then activated by shining a specific type of light upon it. It will whiten any natural tooth structure, but will not whiten dental work, such as tooth-colored fillings or crowns, whether porcelain fused to metal, zirconia, or veneers.

The light activation allows you to get your teeth completely whitened in just one appointment.

What Would Cause One Tooth To Be Lighter Than The Others?

There are a few reasons this might happen. If the neighboring teeth have more filling material than this tooth, it could appear lighter due to the higher presence of natural tooth structure that is responding to the whitening agent. If this tooth happens to have an already-light crown or veneer, this may occur.

Sometimes it may be due to differences in the application of the gel, if it had been applied unevenly. Other times it may simply be caused by the original shade of the tooth itself, compared to the others. These shade differences occur naturally at times, and a tooth that was slightly lighter to begin with may end up lighter at the finish.

 

What Can Be Done?

Call your dentist; they should be able to get you in for an evaluation. If this was not due to an existing filling, crown or veneer, the doctor may choose to do a touch-up, where additional Zoom whitening treatment is given to the neighboring teeth to see if they can be lifted to match the shade of the lighter tooth. This may take a few appointments. Barring that, you may consider bonding or a porcelain veneer to attain the shade match desired. Many options exist, but they all begin by calling the office.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.