As fashion trends come and go, a great smile never goes out of style. Nobody wants dingy, stained, or yellow teeth, but we are seeing more people coming into our office disappointed with the results of at-home whitening products.
This lack of results can happen for a variety of reasons, a primary one being that the whitening agent you’re using at home just isn’t strong enough. Professional whitening treatments that are done at your dentist’s office can use much stronger solutions since they occur under trained supervision.
The whitening process is a fairly simple one, where a bleaching agent, usually carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, is applied to teeth for a set period of time to reach a desired shade. Over-the-counter whitening strips and whitening toothpaste don’t have high enough concentrations of the “bleach” to penetrate into the deep enamel and result in a significant difference, especially if your teeth are naturally less lustrous to begin with.
Another issue that arises is the amount of time the bleaching agent is in contact with your teeth. Many times in order for the at-home kits to work, they must be left on for long periods of time, which can result in painful sensitivity or as we call them “zingers.” OUCH! But dentists who do a lot of cosmetic procedures use a de-sensitizing gel, physical protections for tender gum tissue, custom-made trays to decrease unnecessary contact points, and special curing lights that speed up the process. All of these minimize the chance for zingers while allowing the more powerful bleaching agents to get deep down and do their magic!
Getting your pearly-white smile also depends on factors like:
· Drinking coffee, red wine, dark sodas
· Eating staining foods like berries
· Where the stains are located on your teeth
· How fresh the whitening agent is
· Your age, (older teeth are more difficult to whiten)
· If you have naturally yellow teeth
· Teeth sensitivity before whitening
Due to the wide array of factors, it doesn’t make sense that a one-size-fits-all approach would work best for most people. That’s why, at Perfect Smile Tulsa, we offer a variety of teeth whitening treatments for all price ranges and sensitivities, so that each individual can find their perfect smile.
918.863.2474
