How Do I Keep my Dental Veneers White?

just spent a bunch on my porcelain veneers, but I still drink coffee and smoke.  how can i keep them looking bright white?

Doctor Answers 21

Maintaining veneers

As with anything, routine maintenance is key with porcelain veneers.

A well done set of veneers will have a nice polished glossy sheen, and if the dental office is not experienced with porcelain, the sheen can be dulled during cleaning appointments (remember the gritty toothpaste?). A special non-abrasive polish can be used to keep them shiny.

One shouldn't worry about chewing differently with veneers, as most people use their back teeth to chew. However, "your teeth are not a tool" and therefore one should avoid opening bottles or bags of chips with them.

Teeth can stain, so if the veneers were not done carefully, things like tobacco products, coffee or red wine could stain the edges, revealing where they were bonded in place.

Well done and well maintained veneers should last a very long time.

How To Care for Dental Veneers to Keep Them White

Before answering this question, are you referring to plastic composite dental veneers or porcelain veneers

Although modern plastic composite materials that are used today for dental veneers are a huge improvement over materials we would use years ago, they still can discolor and pick up stain with time.  A gentle polishing at your cosmetic dentist's office can usually remove any surface stain, but any internal discoloration or color shift of the veneer with plastic composite veneers would be difficult to whiten without redoing the composite veneer completely.  This is why so many dentists and patients today greatly prefer porcelain veneers, which are much smoother on the surface and rarely undergo any color change whatsoever or pick up much surface stain.  You can continue to drink coffee and smoke, and your porcelain veneers should not change color, and any minute amount of surface stain can usually be removed with gentle brushing, or using a little low abrasive toothpaste on a Q-tip, or returning to your dentist for a gentle polishing.

Dr. Norman Huefner

Norman Huefner, DDS
Laguna Niguel Dentist

Keeping Veneers White and Beautiful

I think  most porcelain veneers are pretty much stain resistant, but i would stay away from coffee, red wines, tea, and if you consume a lot of these beverages, do it through a straw....this bypasses the teeth .  i would stay  away from whitening tooth paste because they are abrasive and can dull the veneer. I would also have them cleaned and polished in your dental office to maintain their beautiful luster!  Enjoy them and your smile!

Robert Fields, DDS
Van Nuys Dentist
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 reviews

Keep brushing and flossing like your natural teeth

Good quality dental veneers are resistant to tooth discoloration. A non-whitening and non-abrasive tooth paste recommended. Just keep them clean, do not bite on hard food to avoid any crack helps you.

Bruce Vafa, DDS
Beverly Hills Dentist
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 review

White like a toilet bowl!

One wonderful characteristic about porcelain veneers is their resistance to staining. However, they are not completely impervious to stain. We often see staining with patients who frequent coffee, red wines, or food with high chromatic value.

Daily maintenance should include brushing with a soft bristle tooth brush and non-abrasive toothpaste (i.e. Non-whitening) and flossing. Additionally, ampoule whitening can be used after ingesting food with color to prevent stain accumulation.

If the staining progresses and cannot be handled with daily maintenance, in-office whitening can be used to help eliminate some stain. The whitening works by oxidizing stain.

In some case recession occurs and may appear as stain in this case the veneers can be replaced.

Lastly, if the staining is more than whitening can handle the veneers can be replaced in the same manner they were placed the first time.

Your dentist can help you decide what is best for you…

Ryan Sellinger, DMD
Manhattan Dentist


While porcelain veneers do not readily absorb stains they can still collect light surface stains from smoking coffee and red wine after many years of using and ingesting these products. Good oral hygiene is key. Regular office visits to help keep your smile bright are even more important now! Use non-abrasive toothpaste. If you notice some especially dark staining (which you shouldn't) your dentist can possibly help remove this in the office with a whitening gel. Keep them clean and visit your dentist regularly!

Victoria Veytsman, DDS
New York Dentist
5.0 out of 5 stars 9 reviews

Porcelain Veneers: Food and drink, even smoking won't alter the color.

The color and shade of your veneers will not be affected by your eating and drinking habits, as the veneers do not absorb staining.

Best of luck.

James Asaf, DDS

James Asaf, DDS
Beverly Hills Dentist
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 review

Keeping Veneers beautiful.

Excellent oral hygiene is very important.  You can get surface staining on the veneers from coffee and smoking.  The stains can be polished off at the dentist or with brushing.

Patients with dry mouth have the most problem with surface staining.

I almost always provide my veneer patients with a night time mouth guard to prevent damage from clenching, grinding and anterior bracing.  This is especially important if you wore down your natural teeth.  

I have patients who use whitening strips to remove stain from the surface of the veneers.  They will not lighten the veneers but will take off stubborn stain, especially in smokers.

I have had two  patients report they use a dry washcloth to remove stain and that it works very well.  

Keep veneers white

Unlike natural teeth, or composite bonding, veneers do not absorb stain. They should stay white generally. Just stay away from abrasive polshes and toothpastes 

Anjali Rajpal, DMD
Beverly Hills Dentist
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 review

How Do I Keep my Dental Veneers White?

So the question is how do I keep my dental veneers still looking white. If you still have habits that may stain the veneers like coffee, teas or smoking then the best thing that you can do is certainly have more frequent visits to your dentist and your dental hygienist for cleanings and for polishing. If they are porcelain veneers the staining should be able to be able to be polished off. If they are direct bonded veneers or a composite eventually those stains will make there way into the material and they will have to be replaced more often. So I know that life is meant to be enjoyed, but sometimes you have to make choices and you can either choose to change the way the you indulge with things that stain or just up the maintenance…that’s it.

Amanda Canto, DDS
Houston Dentist
