White teeth signal the youth and health of a person. However, tooth discolouration is inevitable as we age. Enamel decays over time exposing the underlying yellowish dentine that gives the characteristic yellow colour to the teeth. Some food and beverages we consume tend to stain our teeth like coffee, tea, vine, and berries.
For discoloured teeth due to such extrinsic stains, teeth whitening is one of the best options available to restore the natural colour of your teeth.
What is in-office-teeth whitening?
“In-office whitening” is the quickest treatment to whiten teeth. First, you need a consultation appointment to discuss what you expect out of the treatment and the possible outcomes. On the day of the whitening appointment, the dental staff will,
- Apply vitamin E to your lips so your lips don’t get dehydrated during the treatment.
- Insert cotton rolls and gauze to cover your salivary glands to provide a dry field throughout the procedure.
- Apply the whitening solution to your teeth once you’re all set up and all the barriers are applied. They may brush it in. Make sure that you don’t touch it with your fingers at any point during the treatment because the whitening agent is super strong.
- Use the blue UV light to harden the liquid-whitening material. Once they press start, the first round is usually about 15 minutes where your mouth is connected to the blue light machine.
After the first 15 minutes is up the light will turn off and the whitening solution will be suctioned off of your teeth. They will repeat the procedure for a maximum of three rounds as necessary.
- Once the procedure is done, they will take everything out of your mouth and rinse the mouth.
You can get one shade lighter to five to ten shades lighter. It just depends on your lifestyle and your enamel.
It’s natural that you may feel some sensitivity after professional teeth whitening. You can have sensitivity relief gels under the guidance of your dentist.
Does over the counter teeth whiteners work?
Commercially available teeth whitening kits are not always successful as professional whitening. The whitening gels that you buy online or over the counter may not contain the proper ingredients like carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide.
Over-the-counter trays will not fit closely to your teeth as they are not customized. Therefore, they won’t whiten the teeth as expected. There’s a chance for the whitening gels to mix in with your saliva and make accidentally swallow them.
Most over-the-counter whitening kits come with a LED light. They may only work in terms of drying your teeth out, dehydrating them to make them look white. If you want to buy teeth whitening products over the counter, at least make sure to buy a product that is ADA (American Dental Association) approved.
However, if you consult with your doctor first, you will get a customized tray that hugs your teeth nicely and closely since they are moulded for each tooth after taking an impression of your teeth. These trays are used with the proper whitening gel which contains 16% Carbamide Peroxide to be used at night and Hydrogen Peroxide to be used during the day.
