Everyone desires to have a great smile. We are talking about having a killer smile with sparkly bright teeth. This desire has made teeth whitening a very popular procedure in recent years.
Today, a lot of people are spending more money just to have their teeth whiter. They make use of the best teeth whitening treatments and undergo procedures to achieve the brilliant white teeth. Teeth whitening had been an effective procedure to lighten the color of the teeth, without taking away any of the tooth surface. It will not completely whiten the whole set of teeth; it will just lighten the existing color of the teeth.
The reason for this is because only a few people are blessed with pearly white teeth. For the rest of us, the teeth become discolored as we grow older. Much of this is from stains from food and drink, particularly tea, coffee, wine, and other such drinks which can discolor the teeth. Smoking is a huge reason for tooth stains as well.
For the rest of us who aren’t blessed with natural sparkly white smiles, we are fortunate to have two very effective modern day methods to whiten our teeth: Bleaching and Laser Whitening.
Bleaching is probably the most popular way to whiten your teeth.
Teeth whitening through bleaching is offered at many different levels. From do-it-yourself kits you can buy at the drug store to higher end products provided by your dentist, bleaching offers many options for whiter teeth. The options offered by your dentist tend to be safer because they involve shields to protect your gums from the bleaching agent.
The bleaching agents usually contain various types of peroxide which, when applied to your teeth, breaks down letting the oxygen enter the enamel to make the color lighter. This type of treatment is usually a repeated treatment over four weeks whether from home or at your dentists’ office.
As an example of the repeated treatments, if you plan to see your dentist this will usually require at least three visits. On the first visit you will get a mold taken of your teeth to create a mouthguard which will then be used in the bleaching process. Once the treatment is started, you then continue it at home and apply the whitening product given to you by your dentist at home.
Laser Whitening is another common form of teeth whitening.
It is not as popular simply because it is more expensive. It is, however, very effective for teeth whitening.
During the Laser Whitening process, a gum shield is also used by your dentist to protect your gums. Then the whitening product is applied to your teeth. A laser is used to stimulate the chemical on your teeth. The chemical reaction of the bleaching product ends up being a much more rapid color change.
Laser Whitening is not only faster but is usually more effective. Dentists say that you can achieve shades of white up to five shades lighter than otherwise. And the total procedure is done at one sitting in an hour. One “gotcha” however is that because this is a “power whitening”, your teeth must be in good health. Your dentist will let you know if you can use Laser Whitening or not after examining your teeth.
The Laser Whitening procedure can also last quite long, maybe up to a few years depending also on how that person takes care of their teeth.
Whether you take advantage of Laser Whitening or Bleaching, just know that these days even though you may not be one of the lucky few that has naturally gleaming white teeth, there are fantastic methods out there today for teeth whitening to help you achieve a white, winning smile.