I have been whitening my teeth for a few weeks. It has recently started having a sharp pain for a few seconds. I think the pain is emanating from the repair I had done on a chipped tooth several years ago. That tooth was repaired with dental bonding. They did tell me that it would have to be replaced periodically. Does that zing mean that it is time to replace it or is the bonding being damaged by the teeth whitening?

Harper

Dear Harper,

Teeth whitening gel has not been known to weaken dental bonding. If, by some odd chance, the bonding was weakened, the repaired part of the chip would just fall off. I don’t think it would cause zings of pain but stay in place.

The type of pain you are describing could be from an exposed part where there is bonding that the bleach has caused to be sensitive. If that is the case, then your dentist could coat that part and you would be able to whiten that area without pain.

This is one of the important reasons to do bleaching under the care of a dentist. They should be checking your teeth for any weakened fillings, etc. and shore them up before you start your whitening. In fact, I know of a woman who did over-the-counter whitening and had a weak spot on her teeth. This led to her needing a root canal treatment.

This blog is brought to you by a friendly Phoenix dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn how she keeps dental care affordable.