You may get your teeth discoloured or stained for several reasons. There are also several options you can choose from to make your teeth brighter and whiter again. Most of these options, which include dentist whitening treatments and home-based whitening products, offer safe teeth bleaching treatment.
Most conventional teeth bleaching treatments are safe as long as the right prescription and direction of use are followed. Nevertheless, there are some teeth bleaching treatments with side effects.
How Do Teeth Become Discoloured?
Your teeth can become stained or discoloured for the following reasons.
- Extrinsic discolouration: this is stain and discolouration caused by foods, drinks, or tobacco smoking. Drinking beverages, such as red wine, tea, coffee, taking foods with dyes, and smoking tobacco can greatly contribute to extrinsic discolouration. Extrinsic discolouration, basically, affects the outside or outer surface of your teeth. This type of discoloration can be easily treated with any good teeth whitening toothpaste.
- Intrinsic discoloration: this type of discoloration originates within the teeth. Just like its name, it is not caused by external factors but inherent factors, such as aging, tooth trauma, infection, childhood illness, medications, etc. Treating intrinsic discolouration goes beyond over-the-counter teeth whitening pastes. It requires professionally teeth bleaching treatment to achieve perfect teeth whiteness.
Your type of discolouration would help to determine the right teeth bleaching treatment option to whiten your teeth.
Types Of Teeth Whitening Options
There are several different dental products and methods available out there to whiten your discoloured teeth. Are you confused about what whitening treatment to use and which of the treatments are safe? There are basically 3 main kinds of teeth bleaching in Houston, these are:
- Teeth bleaching treatment administered by the dentist in the dental office.
- Teeth bleaching treatment/products given by your dentist to use at home
- Teeth bleaching products obtainable over the counter to use at home without the supervision of the dentist
Any of the following factors may affect your choice of the teeth bleaching option in Houston:
- Your type of teeth discolouration
- The cost of each teeth bleaching treatment.
- The teeth whitening method
- Your age, this relates, especially to children.
- Your dental history – previous dental treatments like dental crowns and dental fillings.
Before you finally settle with a teeth bleaching treatment option, it is important for you to discuss all available teeth bleaching methods with your dentist. Your dentist would examine your dental condition and recommend a bleaching method that will best suits your condition. Note that your type of discolouration and the teeth bleaching method you choose will determine the time it will take to whiten your teeth safely.
Teeth Bleaching Treatment Administered By the Dentist in the Dental Office
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In-office Teeth Bleaching Treatment
In-office teeth bleaching treatment is the most effective and fastest option, it yields the desired result very quickly, within hours. This makes this option very beneficial. More so, the bleaching result also lasts longer. Most times, this option requires only a few hours of treatment or a single visit to the dental office. This is because the in-office bleaching option uses a greater concentration of hydrogen peroxide than other teeth bleaching options. In-office teeth bleaching treatment is good for you if you have abfraction lesion or receding gums. During the in-office teeth bleaching in Houston treatment, your dentist may also apply a special light to the bleaching product to speed up the whitening process.
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Professional Teeth Bleaching
This option involves the use of different bleaching methods by your dentist to bleach your teeth. It can either be carried out in the dental office or at home. Normally, the professional teeth bleaching method uses carbamide peroxide. The carbamide peroxide breaks down to urea and hydrogen peroxide and attacks the stains and discolouration in a chemical reaction. This bleaching method is mostly considered the safest way to bleach discolouration off your teeth.
Teeth Bleaching Treatment/Products Given By Your Dentist to Use At Home
This involves the use of custom-fit trays made by the dentist on your teeth. Your dentist will make the custom-fit trays, which only requires you to add a whitening gel and fit the tray over your teeth for about 30 minutes to 1 hour daily or as prescribed by your walk in dentist to achieve your desired teeth whitening result.
Teeth Bleaching Products Obtainable Over the Counter to Use At Home
To bleach your teeth, you may decide to administer personal treatment. This includes purchasing over-the-counter teeth bleaching products to help you eradicate stains and discolouration you’re your teeth. Unlike those teeth bleaching methods administered by the dentist, over-the-counter bleaching products may either contain no or much less quantity of carbamide peroxide. This means that they are not as effective as the products dentists use and they require a longer time for the desired result to be achieved. Over-the-counter bleaching methods may not work for intrinsic discolouration.
More so, most of these over-the-counter products are not safe. Some of these products bear the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance, which shows that they are fine to use. But not all over-the-counter teeth bleaching products have this seal. Though products without the seal may still be fine to use, the seal gives a sort of confidence when making buying decisions. Nevertheless, it is always good to carefully follow instructions when using an over-the-counter bleaching product.
Over-the-counter bleaching products include:
Whitening toothpaste: this toothpaste does not contain carbamide peroxide. Instead, it bleaches using the abrasive method. Though it generally takes time for whitening toothpaste to work, those with the chemical blue covarine are more effective. The blue covarine can make the teeth appear whiter even at just one brush.
Whitening strips: these products contain a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide. For effective performance, they must be applied to your teeth once or twice daily for a specific period of time as specified by the manufacturer.
It is not advisable to use any teeth bleaching method without first consulting your dentist as self-medication may damage your teeth. So, it can be concluded that teeth bleaching Houston is safe as long as it is handled or prescribed by a well-experienced dentist. Although you may experience a few side effects after the teeth bleaching treatment like irritated gum and teeth sensitivity, this is normal and should go away after some days.
Do you need more info about teeth bleaching in Houston? Or have any related medical question? Get response from qualified Emergency Dentist in Houston within minutes.
