Can You Tell Me About Tooth Whitening?

A procedure that lightens the shade of the color of your teeth, removes stains, and discolorations is called "whitening". It is a common cosmetic dental procedure that improves the appearance of your teeth. Most dentists can perform tooth whitening. There are many commercial whitening products and whitening toothpastes too that market to the public.

A thin coating that forms on your teeth can pick up stains and also the pores in the outer layer of each tooth (enamel) can also hold stains form the foods and liquids that we consume.

The procedure known as whitening is not a one-time solution. The procedure to whiten your teeth will need to be repeated in order to maintain the lighter shade because stains are constantly happening as long as you continue to eat and drink those items that cause staining.

The most common causes for yellowing or stained teeth are age, tobacco, and also coffee & tea. If a person was exposed to too much fluoride as a child they may experience something called "intrinsic staining" which are stains that are inside the tooth. Tetracycline antibiotics taken during the second half of pregnancy or that are given to kids age 8 or younger when the teeth are still developing can also have stained teeth.

Tooth whitening procedures work most effectively on the surface causes of stains including age, foods or drinks.

Many people make the choice to have teeth whitening. Sometimes they chose to have teeth whitened because they feel they need to because of their career like Hollywood stars that feel they need to have really white teeth in order to look good on screen or in front of audiences. Salespeople may feel that because they are in front of a live prospect they need to look their best in order to have an image that others will be more likely to buy from.

Tooth Whitening can be done in the dental office or it can be done at home using commercial products. Your dentist can also give you a kit to take home to use to whiten your teeth at home.

Whitening that is done in the dentist’s office usually takes about 30 or 90 minutes and can take up to 3 appointments to complete.

The in-home whitening kit contains custom mouthpieces to fit your mouth and a whitening agent. If you purchase over-the-counter mouthpieces they are not as likely to fit properly and could irritate your gums if the whitening agent leaks; therefore the money you save by buying over-the-counter may not be worth it to you if you end up irritating your gums.

Your dentist is going to be able to keep an eye on your gums to check for signs of irritation as well as to make sure the whitening agent is working properly and you are getting the desired result.

The whitening procedure must be repeated in order to maintain the results.

It is not common to have side effects from whitening although you may experience temporary sensitivity or mild gum irritation. Whitening should not be done while a woman is pregnant because of side effects from the whitening materials on the developing fetus have not been determined yet.

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