What You Should Know About Teeth Bleaching

By Marla Mills


Teeth can get discolored as we age due to various factors like diet and lifestyle choices, level or oral hygiene and taking certain medicines. You can deal with the problem of having stained teeth by choosing to have them professionally bleached. Teeth bleaching procedures are usually performed by dentists who utilize oxidizing agents like carbamide peroxide for bleaching purposes.

Dentists can also perform tooth whitening by placing a special gel into a tray and attaching the tray to teeth for a certain time period. After that, the tray is removed and a special light together with a special whitening agent are utilized in order to activate the chemical reaction. Stain deposits are oxidized after the whitening agent reacts with tooth enamel.

When the tooth whitening procedure is performed repeatedly, the bleach gets into the dentine layer. When complete, this process removes all the signs of discoloration and the outcome is a dazzling white smile. Dentists perform this procedure in two ways. One of them involves applying a layer of oxidizing agents to the teeth and flushing this layer away after a short period.

Generally, a 35 percent hydrogen peroxide equivalent is used to perform tooth whitening. This method is effective and the results are seen within a short period. However, it involves some risk such as soft tissue damage. This is not something to worry about if you have the procedure performed by an experienced dentist. This professional will do his or her best to ensure that your soft tissues do not get damaged.

The other bleaching method that a dentist can use involves placing the whitening agent in a strip that is then attached to the teeth. This strip is not removed right away. It has to stay in place for some hours or days depending on what a dentist recommends. Even if it takes a while to work, it is safe because the risk of soft tissue damage is significantly reduced.

Certain kinds of stains like those caused by the prolonged intake of antibiotics like tetracycline usually take a while to respond to whitening procedures. If your tooth discoloration is caused by taking antibiotics for extended periods, you need to go through several bleaching procedures so that the bleach can get into the dentine layer to bring about the results you want. The recently introduced tooth whitening procedures use light to increase the whitening effects of bleach

Even though tooth whitening procedures are effective in getting rid of discoloration, the results achieved vary from one individual to the other. Most people report that they suffer from tooth sensitivity immediately after procedure. To reduce sensitivity, dentists advise patients not to take very hot or very cold drinks after undergoing the procedure. Dentists may also offer fluoride treatments to their patients to mitigate the effects of the procedure.

Your dental insurance policy may not cover for expenses associated with teeth bleaching. If you feel that it is too costly to use the services of a dentist for this procedure, you can purchase a tooth whitening kit from your local drug store. Tooth whitening kits are effective but you may not see the results immediately. You should therefore be patient as you use them.




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