Hello, I have been using an at-home whitening system for about 2 weeks with no problems. Then yesterday, I used them and I felt a sharp pain that lasted for about 30 seconds The source of the pain was my front tooth which has a dental bond. It was chipped and repaired about 10 years ago. My question is – is my bond nearing the end of its life cycle, or is the whitening weakening the bond? I suspect it is both. Thank You, Kim from Texas
Kim,
I doubt that the tooth bleaching system would weaken the bond on this tooth. Bleaching gel hasn’t been known to weaken bonds like this. Plus, if the bond were weakened, the repair to the chip would probably fall off – it wouldn’t just be this pain.
The kind of pain you experienced can be caused by the bleaching gel on a sensitive part of the tooth. That’s what I would suspect. If this tooth was otherwise injured and repaired, there could be a sensitive place that used to be covered by some bonding agent and that has come off.
Your case is a good illustration of why, when you’re doing teeth bleaching, you need to be under a dentist’s supervision. I assume that you are. You should let the dentist know about this, and hopefully they can find the exact cause of your problem. If it is indeed a sensitive spot, it could be coated with something to take care of the sensitivity, and you can go on with your bleaching. But get this solved before you bleach any more.
– Dr. Hall
Read more about sensitive teeth.
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.