For Sparkling white teeth
Whether you purchase strips over the counter in a pharmacy, answer an ad on late-night TV or have treatment in your dentist’s office, all the whitening agents are based on a peroxide solution. The solution cleans teeth with a bubbling action that removes stains trapped in your teeth’s enamel. Whitener types differ by strength of the peroxide solution and by delivery method.
Your dentist can help you choose the appropriate whitener.
Inexpensive over-the-counter products, such as whitening strips, have about 4 per cent peroxide solution and can whiten teeth by two or three shades. In the tray-and-gel solution, the dentist prepares a mouthpiece filled with gel for the patient to wear a few hours every night for about two weeks.
This method has 10 to 15 per cent peroxide, and can whiten the teeth by about eight shades. Powerful whitening systems administered in the dentist’s office have a concentrated peroxide solution of about 35 per cent.
Over the course of a single hour-and-a-half treatment, teeth can be whitened by 12 to 14 shades. So, someone who has quit smoking after 20 years and wants to whiten his teeth may need a more powerful solution than a young person with good dental hygiene who just wants her teeth a little brighter for a special occasion.
Whiteners do not wear down your enamel, nor do they actually colour or bleach your teeth.
Tooth enamel is a crystal, like a diamond with many facets. Over time, stains collect between the facets and discolour the teeth. The peroxide cleans out the stains — it is not an acid that disintegrates the enamel. You can get as many treatments as you like (though beware of the blinding-smile effect).
Excessive treatment leads to an unnatural appearance.
Don’t go overboard with whitening. Your dentist can help determine what level and type of treatment is appropriate for you. The colour resulting from too many treatments is unnatural. Let your pearly whites be pearly white. When they say your teeth should have a healthy glow, they don’t mean glow in the dark. Teeth become discoloured not only from smoking but from what you eat and drink. Coffee and tea are among the most common causes of tooth discolouration. The rule of thumb is that anything that ruins your tablecloth can stain your teeth: Think tomato sauce, blueberry pie, red wine. If your teeth are discoloured from the inside out, whitening may not be effective. Some antibiotics often administered in children to fight ear infections, can eventually change the shade of your teeth if used repeatedly.
Patients with periodontal disease may be disappointed by the results of whitening.
Gum disease or periodontal disease can cause gums to recede, exposing the root surface and making the tooth look longer. The root surface does not whiten. Whitener will leave the tooth two-toned. It cleans the lower portion, but the area along the gum line remains dark.
Whitening products are generally safe.
The few known side effects include gum irritation, which is usually a result of an ill-fitting mold in the tray-and-gel solution, and cold sensitivity, which primarily affects people with gum disease. Occasionally, patients have cited allergic reactions to the peroxide agent or the preservatives in overthe-counter whiteners. As with any oral treatment you’re considering, consult your dentist. He/she may tell you that you just need to brush more anyway.
Your dentist can help you choose the appropriate whitener.
Inexpensive over-the-counter products, such as whitening strips, have about 4 per cent peroxide solution and can whiten teeth by two or three shades. In the tray-and-gel solution, the dentist prepares a mouthpiece filled with gel for the patient to wear a few hours every night for about two weeks.
This method has 10 to 15 per cent peroxide, and can whiten the teeth by about eight shades. Powerful whitening systems administered in the dentist’s office have a concentrated peroxide solution of about 35 per cent.
Over the course of a single hour-and-a-half treatment, teeth can be whitened by 12 to 14 shades. So, someone who has quit smoking after 20 years and wants to whiten his teeth may need a more powerful solution than a young person with good dental hygiene who just wants her teeth a little brighter for a special occasion.
Whiteners do not wear down your enamel, nor do they actually colour or bleach your teeth.
Tooth enamel is a crystal, like a diamond with many facets. Over time, stains collect between the facets and discolour the teeth. The peroxide cleans out the stains — it is not an acid that disintegrates the enamel. You can get as many treatments as you like (though beware of the blinding-smile effect).
Excessive treatment leads to an unnatural appearance.
Don’t go overboard with whitening. Your dentist can help determine what level and type of treatment is appropriate for you. The colour resulting from too many treatments is unnatural. Let your pearly whites be pearly white. When they say your teeth should have a healthy glow, they don’t mean glow in the dark. Teeth become discoloured not only from smoking but from what you eat and drink. Coffee and tea are among the most common causes of tooth discolouration. The rule of thumb is that anything that ruins your tablecloth can stain your teeth: Think tomato sauce, blueberry pie, red wine. If your teeth are discoloured from the inside out, whitening may not be effective. Some antibiotics often administered in children to fight ear infections, can eventually change the shade of your teeth if used repeatedly.
Patients with periodontal disease may be disappointed by the results of whitening.
Gum disease or periodontal disease can cause gums to recede, exposing the root surface and making the tooth look longer. The root surface does not whiten. Whitener will leave the tooth two-toned. It cleans the lower portion, but the area along the gum line remains dark.
Whitening products are generally safe.
The few known side effects include gum irritation, which is usually a result of an ill-fitting mold in the tray-and-gel solution, and cold sensitivity, which primarily affects people with gum disease. Occasionally, patients have cited allergic reactions to the peroxide agent or the preservatives in overthe-counter whiteners. As with any oral treatment you’re considering, consult your dentist. He/she may tell you that you just need to brush more anyway.
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