With the increasing attention towards oral hygiene, teeth whitening at the dentist has become immensely popular between different fractions of society. Numerous celebrities and influential personalities have begun encouraging this procedure to improve their smiles.

What Is teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening is an effective method that reduces or even diminishes the discoloration of your teeth – making it many shades lighter. Teeth have an outer covering which is called as enamel.

While every person can have a unique teeth shade due to the thickness and smoothness, some face serious discoloration. Discoloration is directly affected by the types of food you contain; some foods and beverages are highly staining that include: tobacco and dark colored drinks such as coffee, tea and red wine. Of course, maintaining good dental hygiene is also very important!

You must brush your teeth twice a day and avoid having staining foods. In case you do, you must try to avoid contacts such as using straws while drinking such beverages.

How teeth whitening Works?

Aging can also be the cause of discoloration of teeth. As you grow older, your enamels tend to become thinner and the dentins become darker. Furthermore, it is important to realize that teeth whitening is only effective for extrinsic stains – stains on the outer surface. Some people face intrinsic stains – stains inside the teeth – due to continual exposure teeth whitening by dentist to Fluoride and Tetracycline antibiotics during the developing age.

This form of dental rectification is done in two ways: in-office bleaching and at-home bleaching. In office bleaching is done by your cosmetic dentist. The is done using a bleaching agent and is one of the most time effective methods. This method requires multiple visits to your cosmetic dentist as this procedure is completed with multiple sessions. On the other hand, at home bleaching is executed by yourself using teeth whitening kits – easily available at local drug stores and retailers. These are usually in the form of gel which is squeezed into a mold that is fixed to the teeth for a few hours each day. At home bleaching shows it effects within a period of two weeks.

Before teeth whitening at the dentist, it is the responsibility of your cosmetic dentist to check for any decay, cavities and receding gums. Yellowing of receding gums cannot be made any whiter; cavities are treated before you begin your procedure and teeth cleaning is also done, to remove any bacteria, food and deposits causing stain.

Your dentist will also determine if you require a Vital treatment or a Non-Vital Treatment. In vital, a gel is applied to the teeth surface which contains Hydrogen Peroxide. After application, specialized light is emitted onto your teeth to make the process much faster. Non-vital treatment is for those who have previously had a root-canal treatment as the stains are then usually intrinsic. Your cosmetic dentist falls church va will then use a different method to in which a whitening agent is applied along with a temporary filling over it. This might be done once or more.