Local Dental Care - Healthy Teeth

Best Teeth Whitening Methods for the Most Dramatic Results

Teeth whiteners are available everywhere these days: at the grocery store, the drug store, the beauty counter, even at mall kiosks. But if you want really white teeth, you need to know that not all teeth whitening products are the same.

Whitening toothpaste will brighten your smile a little bit. Whitening strips might lighten your teeth a little bit more. But they will never whiten teeth as quickly and effectively as professional teeth whitening.

The best teeth whitening products are only available to licensed dentists. Since it's possible to over-bleach teeth or irritate gums, only professionals can legally use the strongest tooth whiteners that contain relatively high levels of hydrogen peroxide. This sort of teeth whitener can whiten teeth by several shades in just one appointment.

Laser teeth whitening goes even one step further. In this method, laser light speeds the teeth bleaching process. The Zoom Chairside Whitening System is an example of this sort of instant whitening, but there are other systems that use lasers to activate the tooth bleaching agent.

If you have very badly stained teeth, it might take multiple tooth whitening sessions to give you your whitest smile. While most tooth whitening can lighten yellow teeth that have been stained by coffee, tea, or smoking, some stains are harder to remove. For example, some medications can cause stains deep within teeth that even the best teeth whitener cannot remove. Patients with intrinsic stains like that may opt for teeth veneers instead, since dental veneers let you make your teeth as white as you want.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Who Wants Whiter Teeth?

Tooth bleaching is a way to lighten teeth without bonding material to the teeth, or removing any sound tooth structure. In this respect, it's one of the most conservative cosmetic procedures. It's an "old" procedure, back in vogue.

How does professional tooth whitening work?

First, the tooth is isolated with a rubber dam. This protects your gums and tongue, too. Then the tooth is cleaned thoroughly. Your tooth may or may not be pre-conditioned to help the teeth whitening products penetrate.

The tooth is covered with gauze, and the teeth bleaching solution is carefully applied. A heat source "cures" the bleach and hastens the process. These steps are repeated several times, depending on the appropriate level of whiteness you want to achieve. The color of adjacent teeth will be considered too, so you'll look natural (there is such a thing as too white).

A professional tooth whitening session takes 30 to 45 minutes - and there you are. After three to five sessions, the tooth really shows the difference.

Does professional tooth bleaching work for everyone?

The success of the procedure depends in part on what caused the tooth staining in the first place. Surface coffee, tea, and tobacco stains that resist cleaning can be bleached away (the stains will reappear over time if you continue to indulge, of course). Antibiotic staining - from tetracycline, for example - is a bit harder to treat with simple teeth bleaching. Alternatively, a jacket or porcelain veneers may be called for. The idea is to be very selective about which tooth is a good candidate for the procedure.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.