What to Consider Before Whitening Your Teeth
So, you’re thinking about whitening your teeth? Here we’ll explain the processes and cost of teeth whitening and lay out the options that you have available to you.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
To understand how teeth whitening works, we first need to do a quick dental anatomy crash course. The outer layers of our teeth are covered with enamel. Our enamel can become stained by activities such as eating, drinking or smoking.
These stains can be easily removed by a dentist. However, if the inner layer of our teeth – called the dentine – gets stained, due to a build-up of grime, then this can’t be solved by brushing or a scrape at the dentist. In order to remove deep blemishes on the inner layers of the teeth, we use a mixture of chemicals, usually carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide.
These chemicals penetrate through to the inner layer of the teeth and remove the stains through a process called oxidation, causing the stains to dissipate.
Being Safe with Cosmetic Teeth Whitening
Teeth, like every aspect of health, are unique to each person. Since everyone is different, it’s important to consider how sensitive your teeth are and whether they could withstand the treatment.
The best way to make this judgement is to book an appointment with a qualified dentist, who will determine if your teeth will support the treatment. Often if you have more sensitive teeth, you may require lower levels of chemicals to be applied in each session.
Teeth Whitening Options
To understand how teeth whitening works, we first need to do a quick dental anatomy crash course. The outer layers of our teeth are covered with enamel. Our enamel can become stained by activities such as eating, drinking or smoking.
These stains can be easily removed by a dentist. However, if the inner layer of our teeth – called the dentine – gets stained, due to a build-up of grime, then this can’t be solved by brushing or a scrape at the dentist. In order to remove deep blemishes on the inner layers of the teeth, we use a mixture of chemicals, usually carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide.
These chemicals penetrate through to the inner layer of the teeth and remove the stains through a process called oxidation, causing the stains to dissipate.
Custom Take Home Whitening Kit
The first option is a custom take home whitening kit. This is a half-way house between an over-the-counter product and in-chair teeth whitening. The benefit of this option is that the process can be conducted in the comfort of your own home. Additionally, the cost of this teeth whitening procedure tends to be more affordable than in-chair teeth whitening. Plus, the results are decidedly better than over the counter products. However, the downsides are this option tends to take longer.
In-Chair Teeth Whitening
The second option is in-chair teeth whitening. As you could expect, this is the fastest and most effective option, compared to take home kits and over-the-counter products. However, it is understandably more expensive. However, the money is often well-spent given that you are in the hands of a qualified dentist with professional teeth whitening experience.
Over the Counter Teeth Whitening Products
The final option is over-the-counter teeth whitening products, which you may have seen floating around Instagram recently. Although these products are very affordable, costing less than in-chair and take-home teeth whitening products, they are not recommended by dentists. There are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, they do not often produce high quality results. Additionally, they can often do more harm than good, sometimes causing damage to teeth due to the lack of a dentist with professional teeth whitening experience. This can be particularly risky if you have dental problems such as cavities, as they can become even more sensitive and painful.
Want to Learn More About Teeth Whitening?
Hopefully you now feel more informed about the processes involved in professional teeth whitening and some of the options that are available. If you have any more questions, feel free to get in touch with us, or we will happily answer any questions at your next check-up.