History:
This young male in his 20's has had a root canal therapy performed on one of his upper front teeth after the tooth suffered a trauma. Since then the tooth became darker than adjacent teeth. A previous dentist recommended him to have a crown put on the tooth to match the color. Using a crown or a veneer to match the color has several problems and future complications. First, it is very difficult to fabricate a perfectly matching single crown or a veneer in terms of color. And even if the crown or veneer's color matching was perfect, it will not stay matched for long period of time. Eventually the adjacent teeth's color changes over time and the crown or veneer will no longer blend in. Second problem is that you'll have to sacrifice a perfectly good tooth to put on a crown or a veneer, and this makes the tooth susceptible to future problems such as caries and fractures. A better alternative is to bleach the tooth internally to whiten its color. Internally bleaching the tooth has its own set of potential problems, but when done right the risks are minimal.