Gain Confidence with White Teeth
Living your life to the fullest can often result in stained teeth. If you enjoy coffee, wine, or even a lot of different types of fruit, you may notice stains forming on your white teeth. Unsightly stains can take a toll on your confidence, and if you want regained confidence, you may want to consider teeth whitening.
Benefits of White Teeth
The key benefit of teeth whitening is white teeth. When your teeth are beautiful and white, you tend to feel more confident about your smile. Other people see that confidence, but they also notice your white teeth. Clean teeth make you look healthier and more attractive. In contrast, when someone’s teeth are stained or discolored, other people may perceive them as being unhealthy or unclean and can dramatically affect their social interactions and even career opportunities.
The Process of Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening is a short and simple process that you can even take care of over your lunch hour. Generally, with in-office or chairside teeth whitening, the dentist starts by applying a protective gel to your gums or by putting a rubber shield in your mouth to protect your gums. Then, they apply the whitening substance to your teeth. This process can sometimes be accompanied by using a light, depending on the whitening product.
Generally, teeth whitening products have hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide in them. Those substances break down the stains and debris on your teeth into tiny pieces. This process makes the stains less concentrated and makes your teeth brighter. The process is painless and effective.
In-Office Versus Home Whitening
There are numerous steps you can take to whiten your teeth at home, such as whitening toothpaste. That helps you get white teeth, but it is not as effective as tooth whitening treatments.
There are tooth whitening creams for at-home use, which tend to have more dramatic results than whitening toothpaste on its own. Typically, you place some whitening cream in a tray and you bite into that for a certain amount of time. There are also strips that you can apply to your teeth. Unfortunately, however, these treatments are not as strong as in-office treatments for white teeth.
Results of Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening can have dramatic results, and this procedure can be an incredibly useful way to fight against stains caused by foods, drinks, smoking or even aging. In most cases, patients notice great results right away, but the full effect can take a few days to show.
However, you cannot cure all dental discoloration with teeth whitening. In particular, if you have nerve damage in your teeth due to trauma or an accident, teeth whitening cannot address that issue. In this situation, you may want to talk with your dentist about porcelain veneers. Also, people that have had tetracycline stained teeth since childhood cannot use whitening to change the color of their teeth. They also can seek porcelain veneers to change the shade and appearance of their gray teeth.
If you want to regain confidence in your smile with white teeth, contact us today. At Buckhead Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, we provide cosmetic and general dental procedures to patients of all ages. We are located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, GA. Call us to set up an appointment today.