What Is Teeth Whitening?
Teeth whitening is a procedure that lightens your teeth and removes discoloration and stain. Teeth whitening is a very popular cosmetic procedure in the dental world because it can improve the look of your teeth.
Note that teeth whitening isn’t a one-time procedure. You’ll need to repeat it at regular intervals if you want the whiteness of your teeth to stay.
What Is Teeth Whitening Used For?
The outer part of your tooth is known as the enamel. The color of this enamel is due to the scattering off of the light that falls on it together with the color of the dentin beneath it. Your gene also determines the smoothness and thickness of your enamel. A thin enamel will increase the visibility of the dentin. The roughness or smoothness of your enamel also affects light reflection and by extension the color.
Every day, a pellicle (a thin coating) forms on your enamel. Stains stick to this coating. The enamel also contains pores that can retain stains.
Major factors that causes dental staining or yellowing include:
Smoking of tobacco products
Poor dental hygiene
Drinking coffee, tea, red wine, cola, and other dark-colored fluids.
Aging also contributes to staining of the teeth. Why? Because the enamel thins as we age and the dentin gets darker.
Stains can also form inside your tooth. Stains that form inside the tooth are known as intrinsic stains. They may be caused by tetracycline antibiotics or excessive use of fluoride (during childhood). Trauma may also contribute to teeth staining.
Tooth whitening works best on extrinsic stains.
Preparing For Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening may be affected by some dental problems. For instance, there is need to treat all existing cavities before the teeth is whitened. This is necessary because the whitening solution may seep through decayed regions and then reach the interior of the tooth.
Teeth whitening increases the sensitivity of your teeth (if you’ve got tooth decay or gums that are receding). Whitening is also not effective on veneers, porcelain crowns or ceramic crowns.
Whitening is easily done in the dentist’s office at Mighty Children’s Dentistry, Florida. Your dentist at Parkland, Floridawill need to take a pictures of your dentition first. With this, he or she can monitor how well the treatment is progressing.Your dentist at Coral Springs, Floridawill also do a physical examination of your teeth and inquire about the staining.
This is followed by cleaning of the teeth. Cleaning involves removal of the bacterial film, food particles and other substances that accumulate on your teeth, causing it to stain. Once this is accomplished, the whitening process begins.
How’s The Whitening Done?
There are two important whitening procedures –non-vital & vital whitening. The major difference between both is that vital whitening is done on teeth that has live nerves. On the other hand, non-vital whitening is done on teeth that doesn’t have a live nerve. Such teeth has had a root-canal treatment in the past.
In vital teeth whitening, a gel is directly applied to the surface of your teeth. This gel contains some hydrogen peroxide. The process usually takes between 30 – 90 minutes. Completing this procedure will require between 1 to 3 appointments. The number of appointments depends on the severity of the stains, the method used, and how white you’d like your teeth to be.
Non vital whitening has no effect on the appearance of your tooth because the stain is intrinsic (coming from the inside). The dentist at Floridawill simply put a whitening agent inside the tooth and then cover it with a temporary filling. It will then be left for a few days. This procedure may be done only once or it may be repeated until the desired shade is achieved.
Follow-Up
If you notice any whiteness or soreness of your gums, please visit us at Mighty Children’s Dentistry, Parkland, Florida.
Make an Appointment Today! Our dental team headed by Dr. Aurelio A Bula is ready to put that smile you’ve always wanted on your face.