However, other ingredients are often used alongside peroxides, such as fluoride. Adding fluoride to a teeth whitener helps prevent the weakening of your teeth during the process, and also minimizes the risk of tooth sensitivity after teeth whitening. Most ADA approved teeth whitening kits, such as Crest Whitestrips, have a relatively low level of peroxide, as this ensures that you will not over-whiten your teeth and damage them.
This is a good thing, of course, but it means you may spend a lot of time whitening your teeth, and your results still may not be as good when compared to a professional whitening treatment. In addition, some whitening kits sold online contain very high levels of peroxide, which could put your oral health at risk.
In the past UV, or ultraviolet light, was used to aid in the whitening process. However, UV light has been found to cause cell mutations that can lead to cancer. LED lights require minimal power, are long-lasting, and do not require a warming up period to be effective. Although their light is more intense than other types of light, they are also much cooler due to their ability to dissipate heat.
All these things make them an ideal light for teeth whitening. LED lights are used in teeth whitening procedures for one key reason: research has shown they speed up the chemical reactions that remove the stains from teeth.
As mentioned before, whitening agents are effective for 24 hours. Therefore, speeding up the chemical reactions simply means that more stains can be removed during this time period.
Ultimately, the more stains that are removed, the brighter your smile will be. Good to know. Consumers have access to dozens of abrasives, bleaches, and lasers that will brighten their smiles without giving them ye olde urine breath. How many of us shine our grills? In a U. That depends on the treatment—and your teeth.
Genetics, hygiene, and past dental work can all play a part. There are some potential short term side effects, like tooth sensitivity. And longterm effects are still TBD. Teeth color with age. Lifestyle choices, from drinking coffee and red wine to smoking and taking certain medications, such as tetracycline, can further discolor your teeth.
Whitening works in one of two ways. It either removes surface stains from the enamel or it changes the color of the dentin. Whitening toothpastes use abrasives to scrub away surface stains. In-office teeth whitening is an effective and safe way to get your teeth whitened. During in-office whitening treatments or chairside teeth whitening , the dentist applies a professionally dispensed whitening gel on your teeth.
The gel contains a high concentration of active ingredients and may be accompanied by the use of a light to speed up the action of the whitening agent. As a result, in-office treatments typically take less than an hour and are most likely to deliver reliable and noticeable results.
While both in-office whitening treatments and take-home kits involve a similar teeth whitening process, take-home whitening kits use whitening gels that are lower in concentration. They need to be applied multiple times for a teeth whitening effect.
The dentist will provide a custom mouth tray and prescription-strength gel kit. You can then easily administer the treatment at home by wearing the gel-filled bleaching tray at home, for 1 to 2 hours a day. Typically, results can be seen after 14 to 21 consecutive days of use. Bleaching trays and whitening gel refills can be purchased from our dental clinics too. A good time to use take-home teeth whitening is at night after thorough teeth brushing and before going to bed.
Cleaning your teeth before using the whitening kit helps to prevent bacteria build-up. Additionally, giving your teeth a chance to rehydrate through the night while you are asleep helps to preserve the whitening results.
Both in-office treatment and take-home teeth whitening involve a similar procedure but differ with regards to several aspects. In the table below, we compare some of the pros and cons of both options. Whitening toothpastes usually contain abrasive ingredients, such as silica, that polish the teeth by physically removing extrinsic stains on the surface. However, the natural colour of your teeth remains unchanged. Some whitening toothpaste may contain small amounts of hydrogen peroxides or other chemicals that might help to dissolve stains.
Blue covarine, a bluish pigment that adheres to tooth surfaces and changes the apparent colour of the teeth, might be found in some whitening toothpaste as well. It typically takes several weeks before you might see noticeable whitening results, and in some cases, not at all. Whitening strips are plastic strips that contain a thin layer of whitening agent, often hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide.
Compared to chairside teeth whitening procedures, they use a lower concentration of these active ingredients. Just like take-home whitening kits, they can be administered at home by placing them on your teeth for a short duration of time. While they are typically safe, using whitening strips too frequently or for extended durations may lead to side effects, such as increased tooth sensitivity and gum irritation.
It is also important that you check the list of ingredients, as some may contain chemicals like chlorine dioxide that can potentially damage your teeth. We recommend you consult a dentist before you begin using teeth whitening strips.
There are many homemade teeth whitening remedies available on the internet. However, we caution against using such homemade whitening pastes, as they can cause permanent and irreversible damage to your teeth.
If you prefer to avoid teeth whitening procedures altogether, you can begin by adopting lifestyle habits that help to keep your teeth naturally white. One strategy is to prevent extrinsic stains by using a straw to consume drinks that contain tannins, pigments or high acidic content, such as coffee and red wine.
Practising good oral hygiene and visiting your dentist twice yearly for checkups, scaling and polishing are also crucial in maintaining white teeth. Porcelain veneers or more generally, dental veneers are thin, tooth-coloured, custom-made shells that cover the front surface of your teeth.
Veneering is an option for very extreme cases of multiple chipped teeth or intense discolouration that cannot be lightened by other methods. They are used to improve dental appearance and function by covering up stains or other imperfections on tooth surfaces.
One tooth or multiple teeth may undergo veneering at the same time. The veneering process may involve multiple visits to the dentist, as the porcelain veneers are made and applied on separate occasions.
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