Saturday, September 28, 2013

Important Facts About Teeth Bleaching

By Marla Mills


Teeth can get discolored as we age due to various factors like diet and lifestyle choices, level or oral hygiene and taking certain medicines. You can deal with the problem of having stained teeth by choosing to have them professionally bleached. Teeth bleaching procedures are usually performed by dentists who utilize oxidizing agents like carbamide peroxide for bleaching purposes.

Tooth whitening can also be performed by utilizing a special gel that is put into a flexible tray. A person needs to wear the custom tray in his or her mouth for a certain period. The tray is then removed and a second whitening agent in addition to a special light is used to activate the chemical reaction. The whitening agent reacts with the enamel of teeth and oxidizes the stain deposits in the process.

Bleaching becomes effective after the whitening procedure is performed repeatedly since this allows the bleach to sink into the dentine layer. It gets rid of stains and discoloration and this helps patients get a dazzling white smile. There are two main ways to perform this procedure. One method involves the use of an oxidizing agent which is applied to the dentine layer and then flushed away after some time.

Generally, dentists utilize a 35 percent hydrogen peroxide equivalent to bleach teeth. This whitening method is effective and fast but it involves some risks. The main risk is that it is possible for the whitening agent to damage soft tissues in the mouth. However, since the dentist will supervise the procedure, you should not worry much that you will suffer soft tissue damage because this may not happen.

The other whitening method involves placing a thin strip which holds the whitening agent directly on teeth. Dentists do not remove this strip right away. They let their patients retain it for a period ranging from a few hours to a few days. Even though this method takes a while, it is much safer because there is a reduced risk of damage taking place on soft tissue.

Certain kinds of stains like those caused by the prolonged intake of antibiotics like tetracycline usually take a while to respond to whitening procedures. If your tooth discoloration is caused by taking antibiotics for extended periods, you need to go through several bleaching procedures so that the bleach can get into the dentine layer to bring about the results you want. The recently introduced tooth whitening procedures use light to increase the whitening effects of bleach

Even though tooth whitening procedures are effective in getting rid of discoloration, the results achieved vary from one individual to the other. Most people report that they suffer from tooth sensitivity immediately after procedure. To reduce sensitivity, dentists advise patients not to take very hot or very cold drinks after undergoing the procedure. Dentists may also offer fluoride treatments to their patients to mitigate the effects of the procedure.

Typical dental insurance does not cover teeth bleaching procedures. If you find it too expensive to have the procedure performed by a dentist, you can purchase tooth whitening kits which are sold at most drug stores. You can easily use these kits at home and they are effective. However, you should be patient when using these kits because you may not get immediate results.




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