Teeth Whitening - How to Get Started?
Teeth whitening is one of the proven and safe ways to brighten your teeth. A bright smile can improve your appearance and boost your confidence. It is one of the popular and common dental procedure as it is an easy, inexpensive and fast way to improve your smile dramatically.
Teeth whitening procedure is not a one-time procedure, instead, it needs to be repeated time and again to maintain the brightness of teeth.
What Causes Tooth Discoloration?
Teeth yellowing and hair turning gray is a common part of aging. As the enamel wears away the inner part of teeth is exposed. Things like teeth grinding, acids from the food we eat may thin enamel. Dentin is yellow in color as a result, as the year pass, teeth get yellowed.
Apart from the above-mentioned reasons teeth may get discolored due to certain medication, dental injury, too much exposure to fluoride, dental disorder, genetics, an effect of external things (ex. silver fillings).
The outer layer of the tooth, enamel, can get stained when you drink coffee, tea, wine, smoke, consume tobacco, and this process does not affect the inner layer of the teeth.
How does teeth whitening work?
Peroxide in teeth whitening products break up the stains that are present in the teeth by entering the tiny pores of enamel and dentin, dissolving the stains that block the light. When light passes through the teeth, it makes them look brighter as the stains are dissolved.
In-office procedure is more effective as they tend to remove the internal stains, whereas over the counter products can only be able to remove surface stains.
Are there any alternatives?
There are a number of options which can brighten and improve your smile, some of which include porcelain veneers, composite bonding, and dental implants. If the stains are deeper in the enamel, these options might be more effective than teeth whitening. If you feel your teeth can benefit from teeth whitening, find a cosmetic dentist for your teeth whitening treatment in Chino CA, call us today 909-548-6200.
Note: Whitening is not a permanent solution to keep your teeth brighter. Stain can come back if you consume stain-causing food and drinks, you may notice that the whiteness may start to fade away as one month. If you avoid stain-causing food and drinks, you may not need the whitening procedure for another 6 to 12 months.