Tooth whitening system

A high school girl posted a question about tooth whitening system in a blog recently. Specifically, she wanted to know why her teeth are yellowish even though she brushed them regularly.`HOW is it that my teeth appear yellowish although I brush them thoroughly twice a day?'

Due to growing dental awareness, people are now more decerning about the need to possess attractive smiles with a row of beautiful white teeth. Understandable, because having white smiles, as some would call it, can boost one's self confidence and self esteem.

Because focus is now very much into the aesthetic aspect of dentistry, lots of tooth whitening system have been introduced in the past few decades. Which tooth whitening system is best? Well, it basically depends on the cause of your teeth discolouration. The causal factors are generally divided into extrinsic and intrinsic stains.

Extrinsic stains are those which lingers on the surface of the teeth. They are easily removed with ordinary scaling and polishing procedures. Common staining agents are coffee, smoking, tea and chewing tobacco. How badly stained your teeth are depends on (i) the staining agent, (ii) freqency and duration of exposure to these staining agents. Sometimes, you may need to use toothpaste with some abrasion to remove the stains. However, if the condition is severe and the plaque has hardened to form calculus, scaling and polishing should address the problem.

Intrinsic stains are not easy to treat because it involves color change inside the internal structure of the teeth, not the outside. The common causal factors include tetracycline staining, hereditary disorders, dental metals, fluorosis, and, course, age.

Good news though, with the availability of many types of tooth whitening system, many types of intrinsic stains can now be removed. One common method is bleaching.

Tooth bleaching involves applying a solution onto the affected teeth surface in order to achieve a lightening effect. However, in severe cases, tooth bleaching alone may not work. In that case, dentists may resort to using veneers or crowns to mask the discolouration. Veneers are basically thin shells which covers the front surface of teeth, and they are made of tooth-coloured composite resin or porcelain material.

How bleaching is done

In pursuit of the "best" tooth whitening system, one may end up with a bleaching recommendation. So, how is it done? There are two ways to do it - (i) dentist or (2) self service at home. In the latter option, it is not advisable to simply buy a bleaching system off the shelf without professional supervision.

Dentist-applied bleaching involves isolating the front teeth using a thin piece of rubber sheet and then apply bleaching agents for about 30 minutes or less. The application may be acompanied by heat or without heat. Common bleaching agents are carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide, although the latter has been phased out in many countries due to its caustic effect on soft tissues.

Heat is sometimes used to accelerate the bleaching process.

For home tooth whitening system, bleaching involves using a bleaching gel (usually 10% carbamide peroxide) and an arch tray (which is a mouth guard which fits all upper teeth). The bleaching gel is 10 per cent carbamide peroxide.

More info on this site - are teeth whitening products safe?