Can Supersmile Improve Dental Bonding?

I’ve had some dental bonding on my front teeth for a few years now. It doesn’t look as beautiful and white as it used to. I’ve heard about Supersmile Toothpaste and I’m wondering if it will help with my dental bonding.

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

Supersmile toothpaste is the perfect toothpaste for patients with cosmetic dentistry work. Unlike over-the-counter brands of whitening toothpaste, Supersmile is not abrasive.  While those other brands use the abrasiveness to remove stains in order to whiten your teeth, they do more damage in the long run by scratching the tooth enamel. This leads to them being more susceptible to stains, creating a vicious cycle.

Supersmile is different. Instead of using abrasives to remove stains, it uses Calprox, whose active ingredient is an enzyme that dissolve the protein pellicle on teeth. Stains stick to the pellicle. When the pellicle is gone, the stains are gone. If the stains on your bonding are surface stains, then this will do a marvelous job.

If however, your stains are intrinsic or a result of damaged bonding, then it won’t help with those stains. The only way to deal with those type of stains is to replace the bonding. You mentioned that it was several years old. That likely means it is time to replace it anyway. Dental bonding isn’t designed to last long.

If you just have a small amount of bonding, such as you would use to repair a chipped tooth or close a tooth gap, then it isn’t a big deal to replace every few years. However, if your bondng covers a large surface area of your teeth, then you should look into replacing it with porcelain veneers.

These are much more stain resistant; more stain resistant than your natural teeth, in fact. When well cared for, veneers can last a lifetime.

This blog is brought to you by friendly cosmetic dentist in Nashville, Dr. David Wickness.