Ways to Make Your Teeth Whiter
White teeth make your face nicer and create a great attractive smile. A nice smile makes you happy and brings you a greater social position. There are many ways to whiten stained teeth, but two types are offered by most dental practices.
Laser Teeth Whitening
Laser whitening, or in-office whitening, is a process to whiten your yellow or brown teeth. In this process, your dental technician uses a light-activated bleaching gel to whiten your teeth. It takes approximately one to two hours to get a rapid whitening result. You have to follow the procedures of your dentist or dental hygienist to use a laser teeth whitening process. You must know about the process and procedures to whiten your teeth, including safety and risks of the process. Therefore, most dentists will give you a consent form to fill out for whitening your teeth so that you know the procedure and all the risks.
To use the laser teeth whitening method, you should properly brush your teeth and have any tartar or spots removed from the surface of your teeth by an experienced dentist before starting the process.
The next step for the dentist will be to make a record about the present state of your teeth. In this case, a dentist can use a tooth colored shade guide or can use a digital high-resolution camera to take a photograph of the current condition of your teeth.
Once you’re ready to start the process, the dentist will follow these steps. The bleaching compound contains a solution with a high concentration of peroxide, up to six percent, that can be very harmful for your gums and other soft parts of your mouth, so your dentist will protect the gums and tongue. The dentist has to cover the gums and use a protective gel material so that the bleaching compound doesn’t touch the soft parts of the mouth. The dentist can use something like a cheek retractor to remove the lips and cheek from the teeth. The laser can damage eyes, so you need to protect your eyes from the laser or any accidental splashes of peroxide. Many cosmetic practices are providing “DVD glasses” so that patients can watch movies during the procedure.
Then the whitening gel is applied to the surface of the teeth, and a laser or light to activate it properly is turned on. During this process, if you feel that your lips or gums are burning, immediately inform to the dentist.
After finish the process, the dentist should again clean the surface of the teeth and remove the gum protection and cheek retractor. Then he should compare the previous teeth and the current by taking photo or using a shade chart. The laser teeth whitening process can get up to 10 shades lighter.
Some dentists advise patients who have sensitive teeth to control or avoid some cold or hot food or drinks for a period of time.
Professional home whitening kits
To use a professional whitening kit, the dentist will clean your teeth well and then take an impression of your teeth using dental putty. Then your dentist will cast your teeth from plaster and use these to make your custom teeth whitening trays. It takes approximately five to ten days to make these trays. Once you have the trays and a whitening gel, you can whiten your teeth at home.
Some people aren’t suitable for whitening teeth, so dentists need to first examine the patient. Someone who has gum disease or another disease should not whiten their teeth.
Hi I am Dr. Darren Flowers the proud owner of Flowers Dentistry in Anthem,Arizona. Besides going dentistry, I also enjoys writing for various dental journals and spending time with my family.