Professional Teeth Whitening

“Smile and the world smiles with you”, so they say and there is no doubt that a beautiful smile is infectious. So, how do you get a beautiful smile if you smoke, drink coffee or red wine or like curry? Age affects the colour and staining of your teeth too as can illness and medication. Lifestyle and attitude also play part in having and maintaining a lovely,whiter smile.

Professional Teeth Whitening

You could try home tooth whitening, but it takes time and sustained effort over weeks or even months. If you do not think ypu could keepthat up, you should try a professional light activated tooth whitening treatment by a dentist.

Professional teeth whitening is a technique by which whitening compounds that are peroxide (hydrogen or carbamide) based are applied to teeth by dentists within their dental office.

Laser teeth whitening is the common practice of dentist to whiten teeth stained by nicotine, food, or dark liquids.

Peroxide-based whitening compounds usually depend on two factors:

1. The concentration of peroxide in professional teeth whitening products

2. The amount of time a whitener is put in contact in the surface of the teeth Laser teeth whitening utilizes a higher concentration of whitener for a shorter period of time, say for hours or for a few appointments.

The whitening compounds and associated equipment (bleaching light or laser) used by dentists are normally purchased from a manufacturer as a franchise, system, or simply as a kit.

In fact, many manufacturers have provided national campaigns about their whitening products and equipment.

Dentists play a vital part in the promotion of a manufacturer’s cosmetic product because they are actually using the product on their patients.

Below is a list of some professional whitening products dentists and professionals choose. (The kind of bleaching laser or light is enclosed in parentheses.)

1. BriteSmile (gas plasma light/light emitting diode) 2. LaserSmile (a Biolase laser) 3. LumaArch (halogen light) 4. Rembrandt Sapphire (plasma arc light) 5. Zoom! (metal halide light)

Each of these whitening systems has its own degree of effectiveness. However, we can summarize three standard steps when using these types of products.

1. The dentist will compare the tooth shade of the patient with a tooth shade guide. Surface stain and tartar are removed before determining the tooth shade. A dentist needs to document a pre-treatment and a post-treatment tooth shade to assess the effectiveness of the whitening treatment system applied.

A dentist may make use of variously shaded tooth-shaped porcelain tabs and compare them to a patient’s set of teeth and each match is documented.

Some dentists even take pictures of a patient’s teeth before and after the treatment. Flour of pumice is used to polish each tooth to ensure that stains are completely removed.

2. The dentist will isolate teeth being whitened. Bleaching agents, normally peroxide-based, can irritate or even damage delicate tissues within the mouth of patients. To protect these tissues, dentist use dental dam barriers.

Thin sheet of latex punched with a hole for each tooth and dental gels painted around each tooth are used to protect the teeth being treated.

When the latter is used, a cheek retractor, cotton rolls and gauze are used to make sure that the patient’s lips and cheeks are held out of the way. Afterwards, these items are simply peeled off.

3. Bib covering and eye protection are placed on the patient. Unexpected things can happen. Bibs are worn by patients to protect their skin against the caustic nature of these bleaching agents. Eye protection is also placed to ensure that whiteners will not irritate even the eyes of the patients.

Moreover, it is a common knowledge that an intense bleaching light or a laser used to activate the components of bleaching compounds could cause eye damage.

What else can I do if I have undergone professional whitening?

To get rid off typical stains—the coffee and cigarette variety—can be washed away alternately with professional tooth whitening systems. Here are some additional tips: Munch some apple and drink water afterwards.

Brush after every meal to have a less chance of keeping stains on your teeth. Brush gently but effectively by using a dentist-approved toothpaste and toothbrush. Practice the correct ways of brushing.

Researchers on dentistry note that an electric toothbrush removes over 95% of plaque. Gargle with a mouthwash that has an antibacterial action. This practice will surely will reduce stain-catching plaque.

Don’t depend on quick-fix remedies like using super-whitening tooth polishes because these also make the enamel of teeth thinner. And as enamel gets thinner, more of the dentin will show off making your teeth appear heavily stained.

To put it simply, here are some reasons why or why not to choose professional teeth whitening products.

1. The effect can be seen instantly.

2. The whitening can be completed in just a few appointments (possibly even just one).

3. Professional tooth whitening remedies cost more than do-it-yourself teeth whitening treatments.