Professional Teeth Whitening

Stained or discolored teeth can easily ruin one's confidence, making it difficult for the affected individual to smile and consequently, giving a deceptive impression of arrogance or snobbishness.

Since a smile gives a lasting and favorable impression, many would want to have this problem reversed through professional teeth whitening methods. Although the market now offers a high number of products that can be easily used at home, having a dentist or other professional dental practitioner perform a cosmetic procedure arguably remains as the preferred and most effective way of whitening teeth.

The professional approach, which is also seen as the fastest way to whiten teeth, involves many techniques. Compared to one-hour treatments such as the Britesmile and Zoom systems that improve teeth color by a limited number of shades, the professional treatment involves the application of a bleaching agent to the affected teeth. This agent contains hydrogen peroxide, which attack the stained molecules that cause the discoloration.

The individual under treatment will have his gums protected from the bleaching agent by a mouth guard. When activated, the hydrogen peroxide in the agent breaks down and reacts with stained molecules. The molecules weaken, enabling oxygen to reach teeth enamel and promoting the whitening action.

Seeing a professional such as a dentist helps a patient determine if teeth whitening is the best option, as other alternatives may be more suitable in some situations. One example is patients with tooth-colored fillings – whitening in this case would give their teeth a noticeably uneven look.

Professional teeth whitening is also faster than at-home treatments. Such products usually require multiple applications before desired results are obtained, while the professional treatment produces an immediate effect even after a single session lasting a few hours.

Before a patient decides to seek professional work to improve teeth color, the following must be considered:

- Dental insurance does not usually cover expenses involving cosmetic dentistry such as tooth whitening.

- The whitening process does not yield a permanent effect, as patients are likely to consume food and beverage in the long run that would stain their teeth. This is especially true for heavy smokers and drinkers of coffee and red wine. In general, those who avoid stain-causing F&B only slightly delay the need for another whitening procedure or a retouch.

- Teeth whiteners based on 10% carbamide peroxide have shown practically no effect or damage on teeth enamel or existing fillings. Since fillings, bonding and other restorations are not ‘whitened’ by the procedure, they would have to be worked on to match the color of the treated teeth.

- Individuals who brush their teeth at least twice a day, floss on a daily basis and see a dentist at least once a year may not need any whitening procedure at all.

- Raw vegetables, strawberries and lemon pulp help naturally clean or whiten teeth, and are also good for health.

- Mild abrasives are present in any toothpaste, enabling the removal of surface stains. Special whitening toothpastes may have additional polishing agents for enhanced stain-removing action. However, such products help lighten teeth only by a shade or two; laser- or light-activated whitening handled by a dentist extends the whitening effect by eight shades or more.

Some dentists themselves offer various whitening agents that are also available over-the-counter in many pharmacies. These include whitening strips and gels, tray-based tooth whitening products and in-office bleaching products.

Despite their availability in drugstores, such teeth whitening products are still better applied with the supervision of a dentist or professional practitioner – and usually with more desirable results. The differences in personal and supervised application include:

- Concentration of bleaching agent: the percentage of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide in professionally-applied agents are generally higher compared to OTH products.

- Dentists can prepare a customized mouthpiece tray for the treatment, enabling minimum contact between a whitening gel and gum tissue, maximum application of the gel to affected teeth and lessening the likelihood of gum and tissue irritation; this would not be possible with “one-size-fits-all” OTH trays.

- An oral examination and evaluation of dental history can also be performed by a dentist prior to use of any teeth-whitening product.

- Cost: individuals would have to decide between the more costly, but supervised and generally safer dentist-assisted approach or the slightly risky but less expensive personal, at-home application.

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