With whitening toothpastes becoming so popular across the globe, its pretty clear that teeth whitening is in demand and people want to have spotless smiles like shown in ads that flash across TV channels with popular celebrities and people flaunting their beautiful smile. People are concerned because they are made to believe that it is and integral part of your looks and enhances them for sure.
Bleaching is one of the methodologies that is used for whitening of teeth. Though teeth whitening is very much popular across ages, people about to ring in their wedding bells or their relatives are very much into getting a quick fix to their smile so that with the glitter and glamor of the wedding their teeth to shines through. And many a times they are in such a jiffy that they never want to look beyond the whitened look, as in about the damage it could cause or not cause to their teeth. Very few seem to be interested in the other side of the coin.
Beauty bleaching as it is called is not a good idea and particularly for people who bleach many times. Bleaching makes our teeth more permeable and hence they keep on staining faster and hence we need to make frequent visits to our dentists for removal of the stains. Furthermore, there is every possibility of the roots getting damages as bleaching leads to soft tissue irritation and transient tooth sensitivity. The enamel thinning occurs alongside gum recession. Even aging causes enamel thinning and the darkening of dentin.
Whitening thus comes under cosmetic dental procedures and might not be included under health insurance plan. You need to check with your health insurer before you go ahead thinking that it is covered under the plan. There are many people who still undergo tooth whitening because of the benefits over side effects are more lucrative may be.
Before we get to discuss about the whitening types let us first find out the reasons behind your teeth going pale or yellow or stained.
1. Intake of beverages like tea, coffee, red wine and more
2. Smoking and tobacco consumption
3. Improper tooth care
Now for the whitening solutions. Here’s a run down the two main types of whitening treatments.
1. Vital Whitening – In this type of whitening a whitening gel is applied to the tooth surface directly. The gel contains hydrogen peroxide as an ingredient. The process usually requires 1 to 3 appointments of 30 to 90 minutes each. The time and number of appointments might vary from patient to patient depending upon the severity of the stains and the level of whitening required.
2. Non Vital Whitening – This treatment is used when the tooth or teeth are to be whitened from inside. For example when a tooth that has had a root canal could have an internal stain. Non vital whitening involves a different procedure wherein the whitening agent is placed inside the tooth and is coated with a temporary filling. Then the tooth is left on its on for many days. This can also be repeated depending upon the shade requirement of the patient.
Facts
Now for some facts. Whitening is not a permanent solution. The stains keep on surfacing from time to time more so if you are an addict to the aforementioned beverages or a chain smoker. It could even happen in less than a months time if you are careless. But, if you happen to be a disciplined one then it could well last around half a year or a year also.
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