Getting Whiter Teeth Can Mean Treating the Surface, or Looking for a Deeper Solution
Teeth generally become discolored through bad habits.
The most common teeth staining agents are tobacco, too much coffee and colas, tea, lack of brushing and poor dental hygiene.
But teeth can also be discolored by certain prescription drugs, such as antibiotics.
Even too much of a good thing -- fluoride -- can cause teeth to yellow.
Stains which form on the outer surface of teeth are called "extrinsic.
" Today, there are many substances which can be applied to teeth which will remove surface stains.
But a more serious kind of teeth discoloration is called "intrinsic" staining.
This is when stains penetrate beneath the surface of the teeth.
All the bleaches in the world will not whiten teeth with intrinsic stains.
Let's discuss the surface kind, or extrinsic stains, first.
Whitening Gels and Compounds The vast majority of teeth whitening substances contain some form of peroxide, usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide.
The most effective way to get this stuff to whiten your teeth is to load a tray with it and place it over your teeth for a period of time.
This lets the peroxide compound slowly break down, which releases oxygen into the tooth enamel.
Oxygen bleaches the enamel, whitening teeth.
With this method, significant whitening can be achieved in 2 to 5 days.
Today, you don't need a dentist to apply carbamide peroxide to your teeth.
You can buy what you need off the shelf.
It will be cheaper, obviously, but in the end, it's results that matter.
If you can achieve whitening without a dentist's bill, then that's a safe, effective and common sense way to go.
There are a variety of other products on the market which claim to whiten teeth, from chewing gums and toothpastes, to gels and stripes which you paste over the teeth.
Use common sense in choosing from among the many choices.
You'll know if what you buy works if you like the results! Look for the ingredients carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide when you shop for off-the-shelf whiteners.
You'll notice that some products, such as Crest WhiteStripes use hydrogen peroxide.
That can work as well, but it generally is not as powerful as carbamide peroxide.
Other Whitening Procedures What about laser whitening? Does it work? Well, lasers certainly sound high-tech, and yes, using lasers to whiten teeth can be effective, but it's not a miracle cure for everyone.
Lasers also rely on peroxide substances to whiten extrinsic or surface stains on teeth.
The laser works faster to oxidize the peroxide solution into teeth.
The end result will be as good as, but not necessarily superior to other methods, such as trays and stripes.
Also, your teeth will discolor again a few months after a laser treatment, and you will then need to do it again.
The problem is, a laser treatment can cost $500, and there is no proof that it works better than the tray whitening method.
Deep Stains When teeth are stained intrinsically, that is, beneath the surface of the tooth, no amount of peroxide treatments to the surface of the teeth will get them white again.
The only real way to whiten teeth stained deeply are to cover them with veneers or bonding.
Or they can be crowned or capped.
A veneer is when a dentist coats the surface of the tooth with an extremely thin layer of an acrylic substance, usually porcelain.
In effect, the tooth is being painted over with a new surface.
This is 100% effective, natural looking and will whiten any tooth.
Bonding is somewhat similar to bonding, except it generally is not a 100% covering of the surface to the tooth.
But it can do the trick it the stained part of your teeth are covered with a new white cover.
Some teeth that are discolored are also unhealthy, and so need to be basically replaced.
That means the dentist will grind them down to stumps and cap them with crowns.
This obviously will give you new white teeth.
Of course, veneers, bonding and crowns are significantly more expensive than more simple whitening techniques which treat surface stains.
But, again, these procedures will give you white teeth that could not have been whitened in any other way.
So find out if you have extrinsic or intrinsic teeth discoloration, and then take the steps you need to obtain that bright new smile!
The most common teeth staining agents are tobacco, too much coffee and colas, tea, lack of brushing and poor dental hygiene.
But teeth can also be discolored by certain prescription drugs, such as antibiotics.
Even too much of a good thing -- fluoride -- can cause teeth to yellow.
Stains which form on the outer surface of teeth are called "extrinsic.
" Today, there are many substances which can be applied to teeth which will remove surface stains.
But a more serious kind of teeth discoloration is called "intrinsic" staining.
This is when stains penetrate beneath the surface of the teeth.
All the bleaches in the world will not whiten teeth with intrinsic stains.
Let's discuss the surface kind, or extrinsic stains, first.
Whitening Gels and Compounds The vast majority of teeth whitening substances contain some form of peroxide, usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide.
The most effective way to get this stuff to whiten your teeth is to load a tray with it and place it over your teeth for a period of time.
This lets the peroxide compound slowly break down, which releases oxygen into the tooth enamel.
Oxygen bleaches the enamel, whitening teeth.
With this method, significant whitening can be achieved in 2 to 5 days.
Today, you don't need a dentist to apply carbamide peroxide to your teeth.
You can buy what you need off the shelf.
It will be cheaper, obviously, but in the end, it's results that matter.
If you can achieve whitening without a dentist's bill, then that's a safe, effective and common sense way to go.
There are a variety of other products on the market which claim to whiten teeth, from chewing gums and toothpastes, to gels and stripes which you paste over the teeth.
Use common sense in choosing from among the many choices.
You'll know if what you buy works if you like the results! Look for the ingredients carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide when you shop for off-the-shelf whiteners.
You'll notice that some products, such as Crest WhiteStripes use hydrogen peroxide.
That can work as well, but it generally is not as powerful as carbamide peroxide.
Other Whitening Procedures What about laser whitening? Does it work? Well, lasers certainly sound high-tech, and yes, using lasers to whiten teeth can be effective, but it's not a miracle cure for everyone.
Lasers also rely on peroxide substances to whiten extrinsic or surface stains on teeth.
The laser works faster to oxidize the peroxide solution into teeth.
The end result will be as good as, but not necessarily superior to other methods, such as trays and stripes.
Also, your teeth will discolor again a few months after a laser treatment, and you will then need to do it again.
The problem is, a laser treatment can cost $500, and there is no proof that it works better than the tray whitening method.
Deep Stains When teeth are stained intrinsically, that is, beneath the surface of the tooth, no amount of peroxide treatments to the surface of the teeth will get them white again.
The only real way to whiten teeth stained deeply are to cover them with veneers or bonding.
Or they can be crowned or capped.
A veneer is when a dentist coats the surface of the tooth with an extremely thin layer of an acrylic substance, usually porcelain.
In effect, the tooth is being painted over with a new surface.
This is 100% effective, natural looking and will whiten any tooth.
Bonding is somewhat similar to bonding, except it generally is not a 100% covering of the surface to the tooth.
But it can do the trick it the stained part of your teeth are covered with a new white cover.
Some teeth that are discolored are also unhealthy, and so need to be basically replaced.
That means the dentist will grind them down to stumps and cap them with crowns.
This obviously will give you new white teeth.
Of course, veneers, bonding and crowns are significantly more expensive than more simple whitening techniques which treat surface stains.
But, again, these procedures will give you white teeth that could not have been whitened in any other way.
So find out if you have extrinsic or intrinsic teeth discoloration, and then take the steps you need to obtain that bright new smile!