Question About a "Dead Tooth" --Turning Gray

my very front top tooth is dead. I fell when I was a kid and it killed the tooth. Now, I'm 30 years old and just a couple months ago decided to do something about it. It was SO bad I had random people walk up to me and ask why I had a brown tooth. Bleaching will not do a thing. The discoloring is from the inside, not the outside. I had a crown put on it a couple months ago and it is SO great! It did cost about $500 with insurance (my insurance covered it because it was an injured tooth, not just for cosmetic reasons), but it was worth that cost to never have to deal with rude comments from people and to have a pretty smile

One of my front teeth was also root canaled 2 years ago and I hate the color. He whitened it as much as he could but it's still very dark. Bleaching will not work and IMO is not worth the time or money. I would just save up for the crown and get it done when you can, which is what I'm doing. FWIW, everyone tells me that they don't notice it at all until I point it out to them and that I'm way more self-conscious about it than I should be, so it probably doesn't look as bad as you think in real life (picture are another story).

Hmmm... seems like if it's turning gray, it's "dead" and needs to be replaced. I've never heard of bleaching a tooth like this. I have a bridge (top, front, center) and may someday do the more permanent implant. My dentist never suggested I could bleach my dead tooth. Good luck!

The bleaching the dentist will perform is done to the inside of the tooth, not the outside, and does work in many cases. However, a crown on the tooth is a better long-term solution. Good luck.

I had a root canal on one of my teeth near the front. My dentist hasn't recomended bleaching so I can't help you with that part of your question, sorry. He did of course recommend a crown. He said the tooth is dead now and isn't as strong. It could potentially crack and then we're looking at an even pricier surgery to put a post and then a crown on top of that. I'll be making that appointment soon since I grind my teeth. But even biting down on somthing hard could crack it. Good luck! It is so expensive!

See if it will bleach out-and it's your smile-it's worth saving-even if it takes years to pay for it-you want the sun to stop shining?