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writeradmin writes blog posts on behalf of Dr. Kevin Peck
Teeth Whitening

Is Luster White At Home Teeth Whitening Safe?

I received an advertisement for a tooth whitening at home kit called Luster White At Home Teeth Whitening with a special light. It’s got a decent price. Before I use it, though, I want to make sure it is safe before I use it. Have you heard about this product before? There are some good reviews for it.

Angie

Dear Angie,

Teeth whitening trays
Teeth Whitening Trays

While there are some over-the-counter whitening kits that work, this isn’t one of them. It’s an absolute phoney. The light they have does nothing. While that is disingenuous and unethical, if the whitening part worked most patients could live with that, though they shouldn’t have to.

Unfortunately, they are not even using a valid whitening ingredient. Instead, they are using what they call a “super whitener.” In truth, their whitener is just a pigment made of zinc oxide. It will stick to the teeth and make them look whiter but fade away. This is probably why they have some good reviews. Patients saw an improved whiteness and wrote the review before the fading kicked in. The best, most cost effective way to whiten your teeth is to have professional teeth whitening done.

Having your teeth whitened will take away the stains on your teeth. If you are looking for more than just whiter teeth, like a smile makeover, than I recommend you get porcelain veneers. They can change everything about your smile, including the shape, size, and color of your teeth. Just make sure you go to a dentist who has training and experience in placing porcelain veneers so that you can ensure you go to someone who can give you a beautiful smile.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn how we keep our prices affordable.

Pediatric Dentistry

When Should My Child Start Flossing?

My daughter is starting to get teeth and I have been brushing them, but am wondering when I should start flossing her teeth. She’s been cooperative so far, but I don’t know when I should start.

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

young boy smiling with toothbrush

It is amazing that you are so on top of this. I can tell that you are a great mom. I recommend you begin flossing as soon as her teeth start touching. You can get flavored floss. You’ll have to do it for her at first, until she has the manual dexterity to start doing it herself. They even have ones with handles to make it easier.

In case you are not already doing so, I would start bringing her to a pediatric dentist for check ups. Some parents make the mistake of thinking there is no reason to take a child to the dentist because their teeth are new and won’t have any problems. Then, they just keep with that attitude until, suddenly, there is a problem.

What that means is the first experience their child has with a dentist is for a dental problem or, worse, a dental emergency. Now, instead of having a nice visit with the dentist which is fun and exciting, it is more likely to be scary or painful. It’s always best to have your children start seeing the dentist as soon they develop teeth. This way, they associate the dentist with pleasant things instead of frightening ones.

You can read our dental tips for parents page in order to get more information on children’s dental care.
This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn how she keeps dental care affordable.

Lumineers

Pricing Veneers

I’m planning on getting ultra-thin porcelain veneers and am trying to decide between DuraThin and Lumineers. Do you know which one is cheaper? I will say that I like the images on one of the sites better than the other, but will keep that to myself until I hear what you have to say on price.

Elliot

Dear Elliot,

A dental tool holding up a single Lumineer

While I am glad you are doing research, I think you’re looking into the wrong thing. The porcelain veneers themselves are not much money, including both DuraThin and Lumineers. Where the real cost comes in is from the ceramist and cosmetic dentist. These prices vary greatly depending on the skill and experience of the dentist along with what ceramist they use.

Doing cosmetic dentistry, especially smile makeovers, correctly you need a dentist with both post-doctoral training as well as an artistic eye. It will also be extremely important that they agree to do a temporary try-in before permanently bonding on your veneers. This way, you get to have a look at them and see if it is a smile you love. If it is not, then they should be willing to send them back to the lab. Only once you have something you’re thrilled with, should the dentist bond them on permanently.

You can get veneers priced exactly the same by two dentists, but the results will be vastly different depending on their skill. Smile makeovers are an art.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to see how we keep our prices affordable.

Teeth Whitening

Dental Crown is Too Dark

I had a dental crown placed and it is darker than the rest of my teeth. My dentist insists he gave me the whitest crown and even showed me his color contraption. It is the whitest on there. I do whiten my teeth a lot but not with my normal dentist because he doesn’t do teeth whitening, just basic dental services. Is it possible my whitening dentist could also whiten the crown?

Grace

Dear Grace,

Basic Shadewhat Guide

I’m guessing your dentist’s shade guide has colors similar to what you see above. This is a basic shade guide and pretty much the only option for many years. Then in the 90s, teeth whitening became quite popular and the whitest shades were no longer white enough. As a result, the companies that put out the shade guides came out with an updated version of the guide (pictured directly below).

Updated shade guide

As you can see, this has much whiter options for dentist to match to teeth that are regularly bleached. Because your dentist does not do much teeth whitening, he will not have the updated shade guide. Having dental crowns that match the rest of your teeth is a pretty basic expectation.

Unfortunately, teeth whitening will only work on natural tooth structure, so whitening the dental crowns is not an option. There is a solution, though. In fact you have a couple of options. First, you can show your dentist this post and ask him to get the updated shade guide in order to replace your dental crowns with some that match.

The other option is to ask your dentist for a refund and then go to your teeth whitening dentist to have the crowns done. Because they do some cosmetic work, they will likely have the updated shade guide and can get you a good match.

I hope this helps you.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn about our affordable dental options.

Dental implants

Can I Get Dental Implants After Years in Dentures?

I have been in dentures for a little over seven years while I saved up for dental implants. It took me a little longer than I expected. Is it too late at this point for me to get dental implants?

Stacy

Dear Stacy,

implant supported dentures

Technically, it is never too late to get dental implants, but you will need one other procedure to make it work— bone grafting. The moment all of your teeth were removed, it signaled to your brain that there was no longer any teeth roots to support. As a result, your body begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere in your body where they will be more useful. Honestly, it is a remarkably efficient system.

The unfortunate side effect is that your jawbone begins to shrink. Eventually, there won’t be enough of your jawbone left for you to even retain your dentures in your mouth, making you a dental cripple. This is known as facial collapse and in addition to make it impossible for you to chew, will also make you look decades older.

The solution to this is bone grafting. This will build up the bone you lost. It is also the procedure that will enable you to get the dental implants you want. Once you have the implants placed, that signals to your body that you DO have teeth, so it leaves your newly built up jawbone alone. Then, after a period of healing, you can have new dentures anchored to them. You will once again be able to eat anything you want, even things you loved before having trouble with your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn about affordable dentistry.

Teeth Whitening

Using Lemons for Teeth Whitening?

I was thinking about whitening my teeth. I know not to use household bleach. A friend of mine tried that and it ended up a disaster. I recently read an article about people who use lemons to whiten their teeth. Lest I go the way of my friend with the bleach, is this a safe option?

Tara

Dear Tara,

teeth whitening trays
teeth bleaching trays

For those reading who may not realize why you don’t use bleach to whiten your teeth, it is because bleach is a base, like lye, which is very corrosive. It can eat away at organic material. In fact, many dentists use it to do just that in cleaning out dead organic material in a root canal treatment.

As for the lemons, I don’t recommend that either. Lemons contain citric acid. What the citric acid will do is etch your teeth. While this can scrub off some surface stains, it also damages them. That damage makes them pick up stains much more easily, which will make them darker than when you first started.

There are over-the-counter whitening kits that work, like Crest Whitestrips, however they are much weaker. It will take a large number of kits to see any real difference. In the long run, that doesn’t save you much money. The safest and most cost effective way for you to whiten your teeth is using professional teeth whitening through your dentist.

You can get results much faster under the watchful eye of a dentist to ensure that nothing else goes wrong while you are getting the white smile you want. There have been cases of people needing a root canal treatment because of an over-the-counter treatment. That is the last thing you need when you are just trying to get a white smile.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.

Teeth Whitening

Can You Bleach Your Teeth with Household Bleach?

I’m thinking about getting my teeth bleached. Before I do, I just thought I’d check about a question I have. Is there a reason that I couldn’t just use household bleach? It seems like I should be able to swish it around in my mouth every day and get some whitening, right?

Ellie

Dear Ellie,

Teeth whitening trays
Teeth Whitening Trays

I like that you’re trying to think outside of the box. That being said, this won’t be a good option for you. Household bleach, such as Clorox, is a base, like Lye. These are very corrosive. Not only can they burn through living tissue, but if they combine or come in contact with certain other chemicals it can poison you by releasing chlorine gas. There are also warnings about you mixing bleach with other household cleaners for the same reason.

Something you may find interesting is that the corrosiveness of bleach makes it ideal for dentists to use it in root canal treatments. They’ll use the bleach to dissolve all the dead, organic material inside the tooth. You wouldn’t want to use it inside your mouth and let it damage your soft tissue.

When a dentist does teeth whitening, they do not use bleach. Instead, they use a special peroxide gel developed specifically to safely, but powerfully, whiten teeth. If you want to whiten your teeth, then I would recommend doing it with a dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn about how we keep our treatments affordable.

Root Canal Treatment

A “Watch” Tooth Needed to be Extracted

I’m confused about the care I’m getting from my dentist. He had a tooth under “watch” saying that it looked like a problem was developing. By my next appointment, just about 5 months later, he tells me the tooth is too far along for a root canal treatment to be useful and I need to extract the tooth and get a dental implant placed. Is this a normal progression?

Joyce

Dear Joyce,

Illustration of an abscessed tooth

I am concerned about what I am hearing. It would be highly unusual for a tooth to go from watch status to needing to be extracted between appointments, especially as diligent as you seem to be about keeping them.

While decay could have progressed to the point of needing a root canal treatment, I have serious doubts that it would be unsavable. Your tooth would need extensive damage in order to need to be replaced. If he had done proper treatment and diagnostic procedures, there is no way you should now need to lose the tooth.

My guess is, and please bear in mind that I haven’t examined you, that you would be better served with a different dentist. It sounds to me like either your dentist has poor diagnostic skills, or he is deliberately suggesting and overtreatment in order to make some money. An extraction and dental implant are much more expensive. If it were necessary, I’d say go for it.

This blog is brought to you by Pheonix dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.

Dental Crowns

Why Can’t I Get Really White Crowns

I had crowns done about ten years ago. I never liked their color but my dentist insisted that anything whiter would not look natural. Now, I am getting them replaced and I told my new dentist that I really wanted them white. He suggested a B1. I can already tell that I will want them whiter. He said that because I have a post in a couple of them, if we go any whiter people will be able to see the post. Is there any way I can have a really white looking smile without people seeing the posts?

Carla

Dear Carla,

A dental crown being placed

I am glad you wrote. It sounds like your dentist is confusing color with translucency. Just because the color of someone’s tooth is whiter does not make it more see through. This is true even if you wanted them to be a BL1. It sounds to me more like he is not comfortable with his cosmetic skills in placing them. He may not have the cosmetic skills you need to get the results that you want.

If you still want to give him a chance at trying it, here is my suggestion. Tell him you want the dental crowns very white. Be specific about the color. However, you need to insist that he places them with a temporary try-in paste and you get to approve them before they are permanently bonded on.

If you don’t like the way they look then he should be willing to redo them. If he is not willing to agree to that, then I would suggest that you find an expert cosmetic dentist to do these.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here to learn about affordable dental care.

Pediatric Dentistry

My Child Is Sucking His Thumb

We finally got rid of my son’s pacifier, but now he is sucking his thumb. We can’t throw that away! Should I be worried about this? His baby teeth have already started coming in.

Alexi

Dear Alexi,

Young boy smiling holding his toothbrush

I’m glad you wrote. One of the most prominent emotions of good parents is worrying. The good news is that your son sucking his thumb at this age won’t really matter. It is not until his permanent teeth are in that you have to start worrying. In my experience it is best that you don’t make a big deal out of the thumb sucking. Most children give it up on their own by the time they are school age. If they don’t their peers sort of encourage that.

If his permanent teeth are coming in and he is still sucking his thumb you could try using something called Thum. It is a liquid that you can paint on her thumb that tastes bitter.

Those children who continue to suck their thumb after their permanent teeth will likely need some type of orthodontics. Your best bet it is make sure he sees a pediatric dentist regularly. Don’t wait until he has a dental problem. You want his first experience at the dentist to be a positive one. If you wait until he has a dental emergency, then he will always associate the dentist with pain and fear. If the dentist isn’t scary to him, then they will have a healthy relationship and he’d be more willing to listen to advice about handling his teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
Click here for dental tips for parents.