Shelli in Nevada Wrote:

I’m so upset that I ruined my dental bonding. My friend gave me a teeth whitening kit she got for free. I was excited because I have been noticing that my teeth have been looking pretty dingy lately. Well, I jumped in and did the whitening right away. I was careful to read all the instructions and follow them exactly.

But, I must have done something wrong. Or, maybe the kit was defective. I had tooth bonding done awhile ago and those teeth look really weird now. The whitening made them look worse than before I whitened them. Is there any way to get this fixed? I look silly!

(ANSWER BELOW)

Shelli,
I’m sorry to hear that your dental bonding appears to be discolored. Unfortunately, tooth bonding cannot be whitened. So, the reason the dental bonding work is standing out now, is because the surrounding teeth are lighter. But, the bonding has remained the same color. This gives the illusion that the bonding has been discolored But, teeth bleaching agents only work on living teeth. They are not effective on cosmetic dentistry.

Anytime you are interested in getting your teeth whitened, it’s always a good idea to work with your dentist. First, they will give you an exam to see if you’re a good candidate. At that point, they would have discovered that you have existing dental bonding. Now, you can still have your teeth whitened with bonding. But, you would have been informed that the bonding would not be lightened. The dentist would have been able to better manage your expectations and help control the whitening of the surrounding teeth.

At this point, the only solution will be to have the dental bonding redone. It can then be matched to your newly whitened teeth. The new dental bonding material can be matched so it looks natural and blends in. However, it would be wise to see a cosmetic dentist at this point. They can help determine that everything looks good with the recent whitening. Also, he or she may be able to recommend a more aggressive teeth bleaching treatment. So, be sure to get into a cosmetic dentist and hearing their recommendations before the bonding is replaced.

Thank you for your question.