Bright and shiny teeth are the wish of every person, young or old. You may never think about teeth whitening until you see someone else with the most dazzling smile. Your own teeth may be a little dull looking. You have clean, healthy teeth but you wish they were several shades whiter. There was a time when you could only get an eye-blinding smile through the work of your dentist. Technology, with the help of chemistry, has evolved to such a degree where now you, too, can have the whitest teeth possible without sitting in the dentist’s chair.
What Does Your Smile Say About You
A person with a big, confident smile expresses capability and a belief in her- or himself. Her smile tells the world that she is sure in everything she does. Generally, a person who has her teeth whitened will also be fastidious about the condition of her teeth. She typically flosses at night and brushes her teeth regularly. She sees her dentist according to regularly scheduled visits to get prophylactic care and any restorative treatments she may need.
White teeth look healthy and pretty. Many little minor flaws can be overlooked when teeth sparkle. A bright smile lights up a face; it makes a person look younger and stronger. If you have a beautiful smile, everything about you seems positive. You can have such a gorgeous smile with the help of teeth whitening products.
Your Dental Health
Your dental health is just as important as is teeth whitening. Teeth whitening is more than a cosmetic procedure. Whiter teeth and friendly, open smiles can mean professional advancement. The effort of whitening your teeth is easily negated through teeth that are in poor condition. If you have cavities, your breath will counteract any whitening effects. Broken or chipped teeth should be repaired before treatment with a whitener. Be sure you have your dental health in good repair before you begin whitening procedures.
Who Is A Good Candidate For Teeth Whitening?
The best candidate for teeth whitening is one whose teeth are not hypersensitive. When teeth are very sensitive to temperature, liquids or sugar, then applying whitener, or bleach, will be very uncomfortable. Strong teeth that are not very sensitive are the best teeth for whitening. Spots on teeth due to aging can be treated optimally with bleach. Yellow stains from coffee or tobacco use of any kind, can be bleached so that they disappear and leave behind a white, clean sheen.
Also benefitting from teeth whitening procedures are people whose teeth have taken on a grayish color due certain medicines they have to take. There are several medications that will affect the color of teeth. Whitening treatments will be very effective in these instances.
Questionable Suitability For Teeth Whitening
Not suited to have their teeth whitened are those with diseased gums. Periodontitis, ulcers, or some type of cancer in your mouth should preclude you from teeth whitening, at least until your health problem has resolved. Once your gums or other oral tissue is healthy again, then you can initiate whitening.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work
Under the term “teeth whitening” we generally combine two different procedures. They are not the same in the strictest sense, although one process (whitening) is a part of the other process (bleaching). Teeth whitening usually refers to the bleaching of your teeth so that they appear whiter and look better. Water and hydrogen peroxide work together to whiten the teeth. Another way to bleach teeth is through a whitening gel. The peroxide will effervesce through the microscopic cracks in the enamel and attack stains that have developed from foods and liquids, like blueberries, coffee or red wine. Sometimes just the yellowing of aging teeth needs to be bleached into a whiter shade.
Places That Sell Teeth Whitening Solutions
Most teeth whitening agents can be purchased over the counter in drugstores, grocery stores or stores that sell everything except cars and houses. The stronger and more precisely geared to patients, teeth whiteners are sold to you by the dentist. These have a higher concentration of peroxide. The dentist will monitor your use of the product by having you come into the office at certain intervals. Should he notice enamel breakdown or an almost translucent hue, he will modify the concentration of the peroxide you use. The remaining whitening agents can all be purchased by anyone during a shopping trip.
What Kinds Of Bleaching Agents Are There?
There are a number of different products available on the market for whiter teeth. What you will choose often depends on how much money you want to spend, how quickly you want to see results, how sensitive your teeth are, how much time you want to invest in bleaching your teeth and how much work you want to expend on your teeth.
If you choose to buy your whitening agent from your dentist, he will make an impression of your teeth first and then send you home with the tray he made of your teeth, and the teeth whitener. This is a little more costly that over-the-counter treatment but you have a mouth tray fitted exactly to your teeth. This mouth tray you can wear while you are working. You could also wear it overnight.
Whitening toothpastes are on every toothpaste isle. Bleaching strips that can be applied to your teeth come in a box of a one-month supply. When you buy a kit from a drug store, grocery store or department store, you usually get a tray or the strips that you can attach to your upper and lower teeth. Some products include a light similar to the one a dentist would use in the office. On the lower end of the peroxide concentration are common products like chewing gum, gels, whitening mouthwashes and of course the already mentioned toothpastes.
Do Those Products Work?
All teeth whitening products work. Some of them are better than others, meaning that they work faster and are stronger. You will see results in two or three weeks rather than two or three months. The quickest way to have whiter teeth is probably the dentist visit. Teeth whitening that is done professionally, is effective but it is also the most expensive. Additionally, many people like the convenience of doing it themselves whenever they have time. Having to set a block of time aside for a dentist visit is not always easy for very busy people.
Is Teeth Whitening Safe
The products that are on the market and in your dentist’s office all have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and often also by the American Dental Association. If a product has been approved by both these sources, you can be sure it will not harm you so long as you follow the recommended procedures. Anything can be harmful if you misuse it. Reading instructions and taking all recommended precautions will give you perfect results without problems.
What Are The Side Effects Of Bleaching Teeth?
If you leave your teeth exposed for too long to corrosive hydrogen peroxide, your teeth may take on a faint bluish tint. If you have high percentage peroxide and leave it on for a very long time, you may damage your tooth enamel which will actually make you more prone to certain stains.
Is It Expensive?
How much you pay depends on the product you buy. Some of them are more expensive than others. None of them are as expensive as a dentist-performed bleaching appointment. In this sense, cost is relative. Individual prices for products can vary quite a bit depending on where you buy them. A package of a one-month supply of whitening strips may cost as little as twenty dollars or as much as fifty. Considering that a mouth tray and bleaching gel provided by the dentist, even though you so your own treatment at home, costs you about four hundred dollars, the over-the-counter products are still a bargain.
How Easy Is It To Bleach Your Own Teeth?
It is not hard at all to perform your own, do-it-yourself teeth whitening procedure at home. No matter whether you buy a bleaching gel or an entire tooth bleaching kit, they all have instructions in them that are easy to follow. Read them through once before you start treating your teeth to familiarize yourself with every step. Then get all your materials ready to use and just do it. Keep a watch or perhaps an alarm clock nearby to stop bleaching when the recommended time is up.
How Often Is It Done?
It depends on your lifestyle how often you have to repeat your teeth whitening treatment. If you drink a glass of red wine every day, or lots of coffee every morning, you may have to repeat teeth whitening treatments more often than the person who abstains from the dark colored foods and liquids. Smoking is a huge contributor to discoloring teeth. Whether you smoke or not will have a big impact on the number of times you will need to bleach your teeth per year.
It impacts jobs offers
When a large number of people were surveyed regarding their opinion whether a smile will impact employment offers or promotions, more than seventy percent thought a smile has an enormous impact on your professional advancement. This makes sense when you think about it. When people smile, they seem friendly and approachable. A person not smiling may be just as congenial but because of embarrassment about their discolored teeth, choose not to smile. This may be perceived as unfriendly and unsociable which has negative connotations. A smile is not to be taken lightly. A beautiful smile can open doors.
