Teeth whitening
We all love the thought of having a great smile. But what does that mean? What actually makes a great smile? Well, it’s a combination of a lot of factors. The shape of the teeth, the regularity of the teeth, the position of the lips, the way our muscles move when we smile and, of course, the colour of the teeth.
Yes, to get that perfect ‘Hollywood’ smile, it can take a whole lot more than just whitening your teeth. But a whiter smile is definitely the first point of call for many people.
Teeth whitening options
Once you have a clean tooth, anything that is staining INTO the enamel will affect what we see. You may see someone with pink teeth after drinking red wine. Or we all accept that over a lifetime of eating and drinking stains will build up in the tooth surface. This is where tooth ‘whitening’ in its chemical form comes in.
Take-home teeth whitening (custom made trays)
The next step up, and our recommended process, is the use of custom made trays. These are fitted by your dentist to sit very closely over your teeth with just a thin gap where a tiny drop of bleach is inserted. These trays hold the bleach in contact with the front of the teeth for as long as you wear them, allowing you to progressively bleach the surface a little bit deeper each day.Benefits:The guards will be especially fitted to your mouth and helps stop the bleach from going everywhere in your mouthThe bleach prescribed to you by your dentist is stronger than you can buy in-storeYour dentist is able to monitor the level of bleach suitable for youYou can repeat this process later down the track by simply buying more of the special gel bleach and repeating the treatment at your dentist’s recommendation.
In-chair whitening
Finally another much stronger option is ‘in-surgery’ whitening. This involves us isolating your teeth with a rubber dam and placing a very strong bleach on the tooth surface, which we then activate with a special light. Because this is constantly monitored by the dentist, we are able to use a much stronger bleach. This treatment is the most expensive out there, therefore custom made trays are generally a more popular popular option. It’s even thought that trays give a better result. As such, we are less likely to recommend this type of treatment except for cases where time is critical. Perhaps a photo shoot that afternoon?
Store-bought bleaches
Bleaches can be used on the surface to remove some of the stains that have slowly settled into the tooth over time.
There are a number of ways that these bleaches can be used with the simplest and cheapest being whitening toothpastes. These toothpastes contain some bleach, but at a very low concentration. There are also products available, such as whitening strips, that help to hold these weak bleaches on a bit longer. These weak bleaches are a good starting point to see whether more intensive bleaching of your teeth could cause sensitivity. However when buying a whitening toothpaste be very careful you do not buy an abrasive product. In the days when smoking was rampant there were many abrasives used to try and remove the tars from the surface. These abrasives do help remove stains, but they also wear down the tooth so that more and more dentine shows through, and the dentine is yellow. So they actually make your teeth slowly go yellow!
Your First Step
To understand which teeth whitening option is for you, the very first step is to get in contact with your dentist. Once this has been determined, the first step to whiter teeth is to get your teeth cleaned by your dentist or hygienist. This should always be the first step, as all other steps from here need a clean surface.
FAQs
What discolours a tooth?
The colour of a tooth is determined by a number of factors. The top of a tooth is normally covered in enamel. (That super hard, crystal layer that gives the tooth such a wonderful strength.) Enamel is white, and has a certain degree of translucency and as such, it also shows through the colour of the dentine below. The dentine is the living hard layer under the enamel, and it is more of a yellow colour. Deep inside the tooth is the nerve. This doesn’t normally affect what you see too much, however if the nerve dies and goes black it can also make the dentine go black.
So, what discolours a tooth? Well, if we start from the very outside, anything built up over the teeth will be the first thing that is noticed. This could be plaque or tartar, or even something as simple as lipstick. So the obvious first step to whiter teeth is to get your teeth cleaned by your dentist or hygienist. This should always be the first step, as all other steps from here need a clean surface.
What are the must-knows when it comes to teeth whitening?
There are a few things that need to be mentioned when you’re considering whitening your teeth. It is possible that bleaching can make some people’s teeth very sensitive and it is not recommended to bleach your teeth if you have any unfilled cavities. If you already have existing fillings it is important to note that these do not respond to bleach in the same way that teeth do, therefore may need to be replaced. While those with veneers, teeth that have gone dark from antibiotics or dead black teeth will need a different approach to whitening all together.
