Unraveling The Mystery of Teeth Whitening Techniques
By: Antigone Arthur

A beautiful smile is priceless. Great looking teeth can help boost your selfesteem and make you appear younger. For that reason alone tooth whitening is among the most popular cosmetic procedure performed in dental offices today. Tooth whitening can help lift discolorations that result from excessive coffee tea or wine consumption. Whitening can remove natural or artificial discolorations from you teeth. The best news You dont have to be a millionaire to get your teeth whitened. In fact there are products available to fit just about every budget.

Tooth Whitening Gels and Toothpastes

Gels and toothpastes that whiten your teeth are the least expensive choice when it comes to teeth whitening. A tube of toothpaste will cost you less than $10 is most cases. Most tooth whitening gels and toothpastes contain hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide helps brighten your smile by bleaching teeth. The higher the concentration of hydrogen peroxide the better the product will work. Teeth whitening gels generally work better than toothpastes. Most teeth whitening toothpastes dont actually contain active ingredients that help whiten your teeth. However they will help remove daily stains that result from food consumptions.

Bleaching Strips

Bleaching strips and other products that whiten teeth like Crest white strips are another affordable and easy way to brighten your smile. White strips as they are called usually help whiten teeth without the hassles associated with trays full of gel. Most of the time all you have to do is apply the strips roughly 30 minutes two times every day. These products tend to work fast with results evident within one to two weeks of daily use. Some people start to see results within the first couple of days of treatment. You can wear strips while bathing watching TV driving to work or even reading the morning paper.

Some people using strips may experience tooth sensitivity. If this happens you can reduce your applications to once per day. Normally this is a temporary side effect that will stop once you discontinue using the white strips. Tooth whitening strips will only help remove discolorations on the surface of teeth. Thus if discolorations are the result of other factors

you may need a more aggressive tooth whitening procedure. Of course the results of teeth whitening are not permanent that is of course if you continue to drink coffee tea smoke or engage in other activities that discolor teeth with time. Fortunately however you can usually apply a touch up treatment at a later date to combat future discolorations.

Bleaching Teeth

Bleaching is one of the most popular ways to brighten your smile. There are multiple bleaching choices available on the market including use of gels containing hydrogen peroxide. You can also opt to have bleaching done at a dentists office. Your dentist can make a custom tray that fits your mouths impression. That way the tray will fit more snugly on your teeth and the bleaching may be more effective.

You can also purchase a product from Direct White that offers the same high quality bleaching a dentist would. This service creates custom bleaching trays for you and guarantees the same results youd get from your dentist in 4 days or less. This product is much less expensive than a trip to the dentist. The bleaching gel in these professional strength products contains 10% solution of carbamide peroxide.

Laser Tooth Whitening

Laser tooth whitening is often considered a top of the line cosmetic treatment for bleaching teeth. Your dentist will have to perform this procedure. The procedure itself involves application of a clear bleaching gel to your teeth. A special light causes crystals in the gel to absorb energy coming from the laser light. This in turn penetrates your tooth enamel resulting in whitening. Usually this procedure takes two or more hours to complete. Laser tooth whitening is not an inexpensive choice however. The average cost is roughly $600 but may be more or less depending on multiple factors. Laser treatments usually also have to be repeated once or twice every year. So unless you plan on making a hefty investment this may not be your best choice.

Antigone Arthur is a successful freelance writer with 10 years of professional experience providing consumers with informative articles on such topics as

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How Do I Get Your Teeth Pearly White

Often the distinction between a good smile and a great smile is the whiteness of the teeth. Over time most teeth typically lose their luster and brightness because they accumulate stains made by foods and beverages. New whitening agents can take away these stains without harming your teeth.

There are two classes of dental stains. For intrinsic stain the teeths discoloration is caused from the inside by internal agents such tetracycline and fluoride. In contrast in extrinsic stain the teeths discoloration is caused from the outside by external agents such as tea coffee and tobacco. Intrinsic stains are harder to remove than extrinsic stain. I recommend bonding and veneers treatment for intrinsic stains and bleaching for extrinsic stain.

By far the best and fastest bleaching solutions are offered by your dentist. During a typical whitening procedure your dentist will fabricate a custom tray to hold whitening gel against your teeth. You take the trays home and wear the gelfilled trays each night or for several hours during the day for several weeks.

Dentists can also bleach teeth in the office. This is called power bleaching or laser bleaching. Both techniques work equally well and are offered both as a jump start prior to home whitening and as a separate stand alone procedure.

While you can get overthecounter whitening kits they usually arent as effective as professional whitening procedures. Because the overthecounter trays are not custom fitted the whitening agent may leak out and irritate your gums. Want a whiter smile Ask your dentist about dental whitening.

Besides you need a dental evaluation prior to whitening your teeth for several reasons:

The teeth to be safely bleached if it has no cavity on it. There are two type of stains on the teeth: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic staining is the stain on the teeth that comes from ther outside such as tea coffee and smoking. Intrisinc staining originates from the inside of your own body such as tetracycline and blood. The method and the recommendation to whiten your teeth differ for each situation.

You will need someone to monitor your progress. Yes there is such thing as OVER WHITENING! Most of the overthecounter product will lighten your teeth a little at a higher risk of swallowing a lot of the bleaching chemical. To inrease the shelflife most of the overthecounter whitening products are added with an acidic preservatives. The acid dissolves the precious enamel of the tooth and causes extreme tooth sensitivity. Professional products have no preservable; the only way to prolong the shelf life for the professional products is to refrigerate them.

The best way to whiten your teeth without hurting them is to see your dentist. The whitening toothpastes that are on the market are abrasive to your teeth and could cause damage to the enamel. The ADA (American Dental Association) has not approved any overthecounter whitening products such as Crest White Strips. Therefore I would not recommend such products for now.

For more information please contact Dr. M. Nguyen at 2818076111 or drnguyensoftdental.com. SoftDental (website: http://www.softdental.com ) is Houstons Premier Laser Family and Cosmetic Dentistry. We are one of the Americas Top Dentists and have served Houston since 1993.

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Occupation: Dentist Dr. Nguyen has practiced as a Laser Family & Cosmetic Dentist in Houston since 1993. He is a member of the S.A. DENTAL DEAN COUNCIL OKU Dental Honor Society Texas A&M Dental Society American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry American Dental Assoc. Texas Dental Assoc. Greater Houston Dental Society International Academy of Oral Medicine American Orthodontic Assoc. Houston Asian Dental Society and Advanced Dental Institute. In 1998 he was named as one of the AMERICAN TOP DENTISTS. (Web: http://www.softdental.com ) http://www.softdental.com