Over time your pearly white teeth may not be as bright as they once were. If your teeth are stained, yellowing, and you don’t present the brilliant smile you once did, perhaps professional teeth whitening is the answer.
There are numerous reasons your teeth may discolor over time. Among those are:
- Food and Drink
- Tobacco Use
- Age
- Trauma
- Medications
Generally speaking, teeth whitening is pretty simple. Whitening products contain one of two tooth bleaches (hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide). Bleaches break stains into smaller pieces, thus diminishing the appearance of stained teeth.
It should be noted however, that whitening does not work on ALL tooth stains. Certain types of discoloration will not respond to bleaching like others. Using bleach on yellow teeth probably improve color quite well. But some other discoloration (brown or gray) may not respond to bleaching. Additionally, artificial teeth, such as veneers, crowns, fillings, or caps won’t improve through whitening treatments, nor will tooth discoloration resulting from injury to your teeth or that caused by medications. For these reasons it’s important to consult with your dentist at Salt River Dental to see what works best for you.
Teeth whitening process is pretty straight forward. In most cases the process involves three steps:
- Preparing your teeth – thorough cleaning by dental hygienist
- Applying the whitener – whitening solution is applied to your teeth, making sure to avoid your gums
- Letting the whitening solution work – whitening solution is left on your teeth for required time period; multiple applications in one session (usually about 15 minutes for each application) whiten each time
Your dentist may recommend multiple sessions to achieve the white smile you want. The whitening effect usually lasts a few months, so you may want to return for a repeat session to keep your smile white once the initial effect begins to fade.