Have you ever wanted a white, attention-grabbing, perfect "Hollywood" Tooth White smile? You are not on your own. An approximate ten million US people will spend a huge 1.7 bill bucks on Tooth White lightening goods and services this year. Tooth White lightening is the most common cosmetic service supplied by Dental Surgeons, and there are also a rising number of over-the-counter Tooth White lightening products to make a choice from.
In this post, we'll explain how years of coffee, wine, soda and other unpleasant stains can be removed quickly, safely, and with minimum pain.
Before we get into the small print of tooth-Tooth White lightening, let's take a moment to meet the enemy. What are tooth stains anyway?
Each of your teeth is made from an inner dentin layer and a tough outer enamel layer, which protects the teeth. When you put stuff in your mouth -- food, fag smoke, coffee, etc . -- another layer continuously forms on top of the enamel layer. Basically, the foreign material accumulates to form a pellicle film over the enamel layer.
A dentist can clean away this film, through scraping and chemical treatments. Even brushing your teeth can knock out some of it -- brushing with the abrasive toothpaste cleans the tooth in the same kind of way washing with an abrasive pad cleans a dish. "Tooth White lightening toothpastes" are built to work even tougher on this layer.
The difficulty is, as this pellicle layer sits on your teeth for many years, the foreign material gets into the enamel. The enamel layer is made of hydroxyapatite crystals, which form minute hexagonal "rods." in layman's terms enamel is permeable, which means marking agents can work their way down into the tooth, where you cannot simply scour them away. The deeper stains are basically safe, but many of us find them unattractive.
This is where true Tooth Whiteners come in. Essentially, the whiteners use bleaching chemicals to get down into the tooth enamel and set off a chemical reaction ( in particular, an oxidization reaction ) that breaks apart the staining compounds.
Most Tooth Whiteners use one of 2 chemical agents : carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide ( the same stuff that may bleach your hair ). When utilized in the mouth, carbamide peroxide breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and urea, with hydrogen peroxide being the active Tooth White lightening ingredient.
There are a selection of different methods of setting off this basic process. Let's take a look at the main options.
Dentist-supervised Tooth White lightening involves the controlled use of carbamide or hydrogen peroxide, tailored to a specific patient. Dental Surgeons may administer in-office treatments or at-home treatments.
Before the Tooth White lightening treatment, most Dental Surgeons clean the teeth, fill any cavities, and make sure the patient's gums are healthy.
Most in-office systems use 15 to 35 % hydrogen peroxide Tooth White gels, sometimes coupled with a high intensity light to expedite the bleaching chemical reaction. ( Some contemporary research has criticized the need and efficacy of the light source used during in-office Tooth White lightening. )
The in-office process involves the dentist gradually cleaning your teeth with pumice and then putting a protecting barrier on the gums. The dentist then places hydrogen peroxide paste on the teeth for several minutes, washes it off, and often reapplies it numerous times. The procedure can achieve about 4 to 6 shades of Tooth White lightening after just one 40-minute treatment.
At-home systems will generally use 10 to twenty p.c carbamide peroxide Tooth White gels that also contain glycerin, carbomer, sodium hydroxide, water, and flavoring agents. Some Tooth White gels that contain more than ten p.c carbamide peroxide will also include sodium fluoride to reduce sensitivity and bolster teeth.
To begin the at-home procedure, the dentist takes impressions ( molds ) of your mouth, and then has soft, custom mouth trays made. To administer the treatment, the you put a thin ribbon of the gel into the tray and wears it for two hours during the day, or while sleeping. Most Tooth White lightening occurs in one to two weeks. In tricky cases, trays may need to be worn for as much as six weeks.
A mixture of in-office and at-home systems can achieve up to twelve to 15 shades of bleaching in most patients. At-home systems used alone can get similar results, but may take longer. These procedures are thought to be safe and effective when monitored by a dentist.
Dentist supervised systems have advantages and disadvantages when compared to over-the-counter Tooth White lightening products. The main advantage of the dentist supervised system is that the dentist can help determine if Tooth White lightening should be performed and if it will be effective for the patient. Patients with decayed teeth, infected gums, white spots on their teeth, and multiple tooth colored fillings or crowns (caps) on the front teeth may not be good candidates for Tooth White lightening.
The dentist can also help decide what type of Tooth White lightening is required (in-office, at-home or both) and the concentration of the Tooth White lightening Tooth White gels. The dentist can monitor and treat patients who experience sensitivity to the Tooth White lightening agents and modify the procedure for those who are having difficulty getting optimal results. Finally, the dentist can help the patient explore other cosmetic dental options such as porcelain or resin veneers, tooth colored fillings, gum lifts and tooth shaping used with or without Tooth White lightening. With the help of the dentist, the patient's cosmetic dental goals may be more easily attained.
The disadvantages of dentist supervised Tooth White lightening systems include higher cost and longer time required to get started. The in-office and at-home Tooth White lightening systems can cost between $300-$1,000 (sometimes more). In most cases, at-home systems cost less than the in-office systems. With the dentist supervised systems, there may be a wait to get started. You have to schedule an appointment, wait to be seen and evaluated, and then be treated.
