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The single dark tooth is truly one of the hardest clinical situations to correct. There are many reasons why one tooth may become dark. It can be beacuse the nerve (pulp) has died, the tooth was traumatised, a poor previous restoration, or it could be genetically malformed or hypomineralised. The treatments will vary depending on the cause of the discolouration.
However, often it is not just the crown of the tooth which is dark, but the root also. This leads to discolourations in the tooth and the gum, and it may take several complimentary treatments, all performed together, to achieve the best outcome.
This lady's beautiful smile was compromised by her right central incisor. The tooth had been injured in the past, and she had root canal treatment when she was younger. Several crowns had been made over the years, to improve the appearance of this dark tooth, but the dark root below was always visible.
A close-up photo shows that the crown is not a perfect colour match, but the dark root showing from beneath makes the overall cosmetic result very poor. This lady did not like the dark root and the slightly purple gum colour.
The treatment in this case consisted of internal whitening to brighten the root, a ceramic post & core, and then finally an all-porcelain crown was placed.
The final result is beautiful, and it is almost impossible to tell that there was a dark root beforehand, or that this tooth has previously had root canal treatment.
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This tooth became dark after it was knocked during a sports accident. The nerve died and the tooth darkened some time later.
As there was no crown to replace, the best treatment involved actually changing the colour of the tooth itself. This was achieved with a whitening treatment that was performed over only two appointments. The result is excellent.