Professional teeth whitening: Teeth Whitening

Tooth whitening is advised when normal tooth cleaning is not sufficient to allow their natural colour, both for internal reasons such as age, the type of tooth as well as external such as smoking, coffee, alcohol...

Today tooth whitening techniques are highly advanced, and allow an achievement of a clearer tooth colouring that is nonetheless natural and without provoking undesired effects. In fact, tooth pigmentation is linked to that of the skin and to the lip and gum colour, thus a whitened smile must always be in harmony with the rest of the face. Being that a smile counts very much during first impressions, a smile must be totally in line not only with one's morphology but also with one's personality. Be careful that if teeth present defects, after tooth whitening they will be highlighted. Therefore, before starting treatment the orthodontist must give an accurate oral examination to the patient. It is also important to underline that:

1. very often professional tooth cleaning, associated to an efficient daily hygiene, allows the preservation of the teeth's natural and initial colour, or to regain it

2. there are non-invasive and simple techniques that allow the obtainmentt of a whiter than natural colour, to be carried out by an orthodontist

3. for as white as possible, teeth surrounded by gums in bad shape will never give a beautiful smile; to achieve it, it is fundamental that the gums remain in good health

4. the natural tooth colour is due to translucency and of the sum pigments of its constituting parts; enamel, tooth, pulp. Not all teeth have the same form or the same pigmentation, which vary in each person.

At the bottom of it all,who has not ever dreamed of whiter teeth? Most of us do not like our tooth colour, that are either too yellow or too greyish, or believe their teeth to be too stained. Today various systems exist hat truly chance teeth colour. Through night masks to apply on the teeth, or activation with halogen light or lasers with various whitening substances. This last option must be carried out by a dentist. It must be a personal dentist who advises the best suited treatment adapt to case characteristics.

One of the most efficiently held systems is called britesmile (www.britesmile.com) and it has a base of hydrogen peroxide, whose whitening properties were discovered many years ago. Upon contact with the teeth peroxide develops oxygen that eliminates stains and whitens tooth shade. The most highly advanced tooth whitening technology employs a light emitter and the properties of a particular whitening gel.

Q&A  

1) How white will my teeth be with the BriteSmile system?
Clinical studies have shown that the BriteSmile 3000 is capable of obtaining more than 9 degrees of mean improvement pigmentations i a single session. Naturally, each type of tooth reacts in a different manner, even if slightly. In many cases, however, the results will be truly significant (generally in the line of 7-10 tones of improvement)This issue will be the theme of discussion and clarification in the course of consultation with the orthodontist. Even in cases of severe colour degradation there can be excellent result achievement, however in the most difficult cases, the orthodontist may decide to extent treatment time.

2) How long will treatment results last?
The long term results directly depend on the individual. Some habits such as tobacco use, coffee intake, dark colour beverage assumption, few dental visits for tooth cleaning and so on can in time jeopardise the achieved results. Regular cleaning carried out by professionals along with the use of whitening tooth pastes will help maintain the good treatment results for at least 2-3 years. Some people tend towards yearly treatments.

3) What does the entire whitening procedure consist in?
First of all it is necessary to carry out a dental visit. If necessary you will be asked to undergo a preventive oral hygiene session. The entire procedure will be executed while in the dentist chair; after a preliminary preparation for gum protection that lasts about 10-15 minutes,there will be the application of whitening gel on your teeth, and the light emitter will be positioned in front of your mouth. Without any further intervention you will remain in the dentist chair and after one hour your teeth will assume their natural colour.

 4) is the system safe?
yes,The procedure does not produce alterations of the enamel or exixting fillings. The prime ingredient of the whitening gel is hydrogen peroxide, used in tooth whitening for more than 100 years without complications. More over, the percentile of hydrogen peroxide is only 15%, which is to say much less than the concentration in other whitening gels that reach 35 to 50% .

5) Will it hurt?
A small minority of people may advert a warm sensation on their teeth after the treatment. The disturbance can be resolved by the use of an analgesic. In the case of dental sensitivity it is sufficient to not drink either extremely cold or extremely hot beverages for 24 hours after the treatment.

6) Is the procedure suitable for everybody?
Anybody interested at whitening his or her smile can benefit from Britesmile,,also including those that use a high quantity of substances such as tobacco, coffee ofr that present tetraciclina stains.  Naturally, if a substantial dental situation were to present itself during a dental check-up, this would have priority over the whitening treatment. Generally, the procedure is not advised for whomever suffers from temporomandibularis, that have a strong sensitivity to thermal extremes or that present numerous fractures on their anterior teeth.

7) Will the procedure whiten my crowns and my fillings?
No, tooth whitening only works on natural teeth. This must be taken into consideration before undergoing treatment. In fact, once the natural teeth have been whitened, the old crowns, veeners or dark fillings wil have to be renewed in order to have tone compatibility. This aspect will also be issue of debate during an orthodontic visit.

8) Can I undergo treatment if I am pregnant?
There are not any specific  counter-indications under pregnancy. In some cases there might be an increases gingiva sensitivity. In any case we advise that the treatment be postponed until after conception.

9) How is it possible to keep my colour after the treatment?
It is our duty to fully explain to you how to maintain a continued result of your new whitened tonality. In short, it is always necessary to:

1.      Brush your teeth twice a day, or at least after every meal.

2.      Use on a daily basis dental floss.

3.      Use a whitening toothpaste.

4.      Visit your for a your oral hygiene and general check-up every 6 months.

last update: 21 January 2008