Choose Your Method of Teeth Whitening

Colors make things more pleasing to look at, but unfortunately this is not the case when it comes to our teeth. Having yellowish, brownish, sometimes grayish, and even greenish teeth are not pleasing to the eye and most often embarrasses their beholder. What is responsible for these colors that stain the formerly white dentures that a person has?

What causes teeth stains?

First and foremost, there are two types of stains: exterior and interior. As the name implies, exterior stains are found outside the tooth particularly on the enamel. Interior stains are found inside the tooth.

Exterior Stains

Teeth differ from one person to another. Some people have defects on the outer covering of the tooth enamel: microscopic cracks and holes that can make colored substances stick more to the enamel’s surface.

Also, a genetic condition where a person has less saliva than what is normal is predisposed to staining. Saliva washes away debris from food and drinks. If the person produces less saliva, then the mouth is washed infrequently.

Teeth gradually stain yellow with aging, but poor dental habits are more responsible for this.

The following are sources of exterior stains of the teeth:

1. Food

All food can deposit leftover materials and pigments on the teeth causing gradual yellowing of the teeth through time. Some food may also cause immediate staining due to natural pigments colored substances (e.g. berries) or due to food coloring (e.g. candies)

2. Beverage

Beverages that contain tannic acid (e.g. coffee and tea) or other acids such as phosphoric (e.g. cola drinks) can cause brownish stains on the teeth. The acid reacts with the enamel and stains the teeth yellow. Red wine is not highly acidic being an alcohol, but bacteria living in the mouth can react with it changing it to an acid.

3. Exposure to metallic salts

People who work in chemical factories may inhale fumes of metallic salts such as copper, nickel, potassium, calcium, sodium, silicon, magnesium, and phosphorus causing green stains on the teeth.

4. Tobacco Use

Smoking or chewing tobacco can leave brown to black stains on the middle surface of the tooth down to the gums. These stains are hard to remove and gets worst with prolonged smoking.

5. Bacteria

Color-producing bacteria (chromogenic) cause orange to red stains. Black stain, the most common stain caused by bacteria is caused by Actinomyces sp. Fluorescent bacteria produce green stains on the teeth. Bacteria react on the food we eat and excess acids can react with the enamel of the tooth and cause plaque and eventually tooth decay.

6. Medicated mouthwash

Some medications delivered as mouthwash can gradually stain the teeth as well. These include Iodine-containing, Chlorhexidine, Iron-containing (black), Potassium Permanganate (violet-black), Silver Nitrate (black), and Stannous Flouride (brown) mouthwashes.

Interior Stains

1. Antibiotics

Antibiotics such as Tetracycline and Minocycline stain the teeth by interfering with the developing teeth. For this reason, Tetracycline is not given to children.

2. Exposure to excess amounts of Flouride

Excessive exposure to fluoride due to treated water from public facilities, and fluoride-containing toothpastes, as well as fluoride supplements can cause staining by interfering with developing teeth. The teeth takes on an uneven whiteness.

3. Hereditary

Some people have hereditary dentin conditions that make them prone to intrinsic staining of the teeth. The dentin is responsible for reflecting light that accounts for the color of the teeth that we actually see.

Hereditary blood conditions (e.g. erythropoietic prophyria) that make the pigment porphyrin, (in the blood) more attracted to calcium may cause interior staining as calcium deposits inside the tooth.

4. Trauma

When a person suffers a heavy blow on the mouth, some of the tissue and blood vessels may decay and cause staining and discoloration of the teeth. This is because the dead cells and blood are deposited into the teeth.

What method of teeth whitening is suited to my kind of teeth stain?

Teeth-whitening is made possible by bleaching using a peroxide chemical. Depending on the type of stain on your teeth, there are several ways to whiten them.

1) Over-the-counter Topical Teeth Whitening Products

Whitening toothpastes and gels can only remove surface stains caused by food and drinks. Whitening strips (e.g. Crest) are the most effective in over-the-counter products. It is like a band aid containing peroxide that is placed directly on the teeth.

2) Loaded Tray Teeth Whitening

This method requires the assistance of a dentist if a person wants a custom-made tray and would not want to be bothered with making his/her own tray for a sure fit.

Whether a custom-made or ready-made tray is used, a prescribed bleaching or whitening gel Carbamide Peroxide is loaded inside the tray. This chemical reacts with saliva to release Hydrogen Peroxide. Significant whitening is seen after two to three weeks of wearing the tray for 2 to 4 hours every day. This can remove most of the more persistent exterior stains. Interior stains may not be removed completely, but significant improvements can be seen after prolonged treatment. This treatment can last for several years, accompanied by proper oral hygiene.

3) Laser Teeth Whitening

This whitening method applies a bleaching agent, Carbamide Peroxide directly to the teeth, and uses laser to activate and hasten the reaction between the teeth and the peroxide. The treatment runs for an hour and requires only one visit to the clinic; but this method costs a lot more than over-the-counter gels and at-home teeth whitening methods, and the effects are not long-lasting unlike loaded-tray method.

4) Blue Light Teeth Whitening

This method makes use of blue light to activate and hasten the reaction between the bleaching agent, Hydrogen Peroxide and the teeth. The treatment lasts for an hour and requires only one visit. The effects last for several years.

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