Teeth whitening is now the most popular treatment option for cosmetic dentistry since almost everyone strives to get a more beautiful, radiant, and alluring smile these days. A beautiful smile gives a person an increased sense of self-assurance.
Woden Dental Centre has qualified professional dentists in Canberra for professional chair teeth whitening.
Why is Teeth Whitening Done?
It is the process of making your teeth brighter and whiter when they have become yellow or brown over time for many reasons, which include
- Excessive intake of coffee, tea, and wine
- Excessive smoking
- Aging: Teeth turn yellow as we age because the outer layer of teeth, called enamel, gets thinner. This lets the yellow dentin below the enamel show through.
- Trauma
- Medications such as tetracycline, doxycycline
- Fluorosis which causes brown or black discoloration of teeth
How is Teeth Whitening Done?
Teeth whitening can be done in two ways
- At-home teeth whitening
- In-clinic teeth whitening can be internal (inside the tooth) or external (outside the teeth)
At-home Teeth Whitening
First, your dentist will use the material to take an impression of your upper and lower teeth.
After taking an impression of your jaws, trays are made for them.
Next, your dentist will give you trays and a whitening kit
and instructions on how and how long to put the whitening solution in the trays.
This is a slow process and can take a few days to a few weeks to provide results.
In-clinic Teeth Whitening
This is done by your dentist at his clinic, this is done faster, and the solution used for bleaching teeth is more robust.
Steps of in-clinic teeth whitening
- Your dentist will first carefully inspect your teeth for stains and cavities.
- To eliminate plaque and dirt from your teeth, polish them using a pumice polishing agent.
- Your dentist will take note of the present shade of your teeth.
- a cheek retractor is inserted into the mouth to completely retract the cheeks and lips, to show all teeth
- Gauze is inserted inside the mouth to keep the teeth dry; saliva diminishes the effectiveness of the whitening chemical.
- A barrier is applied to the gum line to protect it from the irritants induced by the bleaching chemical.
- On the front surface of the teeth, a bleaching chemical is applied.
- Hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide is used as a bleaching agent.
- Some tooth whitening procedures need curing light to activate the chemical.
- Teeth whitening might take between 15 and 30 minutes.
- It may take two to three 15–30-minute sessions to acquire the necessary shade.
- After attaining the appropriate shade, the whitening agent is rinsed with a large amount of water to ensure that no agent is left behind to cause gum inflammation.
- Following that, fluoride is administered to the teeth to minimize sensitivity, which is typical following whitening.
- The majority of teeth whitening treatments are completed in a single visit.
This is external teeth whitening,
in the case of internal teeth, using a whitening agent on a tooth that has trauma and turned yellow
It is only done after the root canal treatment.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
The whitening agent contains hydrogen peroxide,
which breaks up the molecules that stain teeth into smaller pieces
that can be removed from the tooth. This makes teeth whiter.
Will Teeth Whitening Work on Crowns?
Crowns, bridges, dentures, and veneers don’t change color when teeth are whitened. So your crown will stay the same color, but it will only make your teeth look brighter.
Teeth Whitening vs. Scaling?
Scaling removes plaque, tartar, and stains on the outside of the teeth. This is helpful for people with gum disease and inflammation.
Whitening is for tough stains on the inside of the teeth that scaling and polishing can’t get rid of.
While scaling requires equipment to remove plaque and calculus,
teeth whitening relies on applying a chemical agent to the teeth to get the desired outcome.
Are There any Side Effects of Teeth Whitening?
Whitening teeth can cause sensitivity, gum irritation, and not desired results.
The whitening agent flows through the outer layer of the tooth (Enamel) towards the inner layer known as dentin,
which results in sensitivity of tooth to hot and cold
Sensitivity can be treated with fluoride, and it gets better as time goes on.
The second side effect is gum irritation.
Bleaching agents are used in high concentrations, and if they touch the gums or soft tissues, they can irritate them.
After a short time, tissues go back to how they were before.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?
Teeth whitening may last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years,
Also, depending on how well you take care of your teeth
- by avoiding substances that stain your teeth like coffee, tea, alcohol, and cigarettes
- maintaining proper dental hygiene such as brushing twice daily for 2 minutes and flossing your teeth.
Woden Dental Centre offers a variety of teeth whitening options to help you achieve that perfect smile.
If you need a visit to the dentist, to get any dental procedure done conveniently, place an appointment here and get your timings fixed.
