What is teeth whitening?
Teeth whitening consists a safe, easy, fast and effective treatment of teeth discolouration, making them whiter and brighter. This procedure is painless and does not require the removal of dental tissue.
The necessity of teeth whitening
Tooth discolouration can be caused by internal and external factors. Internal factors concern the inner structure of the teeth and heredity, while external factors are influenced by daily habits, such as the consumption of coffee or tea, smoking and medications. External factors can be easily faced with teeth cleaning, but concerning to the internal ones teeth whitening is the only effective solutions.
Teeth Whitening: The procedure
Teeth whitening can be carried out in three different ways, in the dentist’s office, at home or with a combination of both ways. In the dentist’s office, the doctor applies a white substance, which is consisted of hydrogen peroxide and can be activated with radiation. In this way, the pigments on the surface of the teeth are oxidised and lose their colour. On the other hand, at home treatment the patient uses special mouth guards that the dentist indicated, following his instructions. However, the combination of both methods has become widespread recently, because it provides the most noticeable and long lasting results.
Before the teeth whitening procedure, the doctor measures the patient’s oral cavity, in order to design the mouth guards that the patient will use at home. Then he performs colour sampling with the aim to select the appropriate colour tone that fits patient’s features. Afterwards, the dentist isolates the gums and the soft parts of the cavity, in order to place on the teeth the whitening substance. This whitening substance is being activated with LED lighting, during a process that lasts approximately 20 minutes. The procedure can also repeated for a second time.
The complementary treatment with mouth guards at home, demands 30 minutes and the duration last from 7-10 days. After the end of the session, the patient has to visit the dentist to examine the produced results.
At this point it has to be mentioned that the choice of the appropriate method depends on patient’s needs, each incident and the doctor’s medical report.
Contraindications of the procedure
Teeth whitening should be avoided by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, young children, patients with very sensitive teeth and people who are allergic to peroxide. Also, patients who have undergone a prosthetic restoration cannot perform tooth discolouration. This happens because the materials used for treatments like this are durable and unchangeable. Therefore, the permitted age for teeth whitening is from 18 years and onwards.
Results
Teeth whitening is a harmless treatment that provides immediate and lasting results, if it is carried out with suitable materials and in a prudent manner. However, these results are influenced by the patient’s oral hygiene, diet, and tooth type, factors that significantly affect the final color tone. Furthermore, after the end of the session, a sense of sensitivity can arise in the patient’s teeth, which will not last for long. Also, the avoidance of food consumption with strong pigments is recommended.
