Professional teeth whitening is a popular and effective way to brighten your teeth. The speed with which you can transform your smile is one of the most appealing aspects of teeth whitening. If you choose to pursue this procedure, your Johns Creek dentist will review the details with you and determine if you are indeed a good candidate or if another cosmetic dentistry treatment may be better for you.
In the meantime, here are seven things to know about professional teeth whitening:
- Your teeth need to be healthy before you can get them whitened. If you have decay, infections, cracks, gum disease, or any other serious oral health issues, these problems will need to be addressed before whitening can be done. The discovery of a tooth or gum problem does not mean you won’t be able to whiten your teeth – you’ll just need to be a little patient.
- There are two different types of tooth stains, intrinsic and extrinsic. Professional teeth whitening is intended to bleach the intrinsic stains that have gone deep within the tooth and blast them apart. Extrinsic tooth stains are on your tooth enamel and are also removed by whitening, though they can be polished away by a dental cleaning too.
- You may not be able to whiten your teeth. What is also intrinsic, however, is the coloring of your teeth. Everyone’s dentin is yellow, but the intensity of this color varies for every person. If your teeth are naturally more yellow, teeth whitening will never be able to make a dent. If you want whiter teeth, another cosmetic dentistry treatment like porcelain veneers may be necessary to brighten your smile.
- You might be sensitive to the whitening gel. Every precaution is taken to ensure that you are comfortable during your teeth whitening treatment, including carefully covering the gums. However, some people are more sensitive to the bleaching agent and may experience sensitivity briefly during or just after treatment.
- Each tooth does not respond to whitening the same way. Every tooth can have a combination of several different colors to give it a unique shading. This reality can make whitening tricky, which is why professional whitening is recommended. Supervised and targeted whitening will achieve a more uniform color, but your dentist can also identify which teeth may need a different type of treatment to be whiter.
- The results will be far more powerful than drugstore whitening treatments. Over-the-counter teeth whitening products can temporarily make teeth whiter. These products do not have the powerful bleaching agents to get deep into your teeth and blast apart stain molecules, however. The surface of your teeth will be shinier and whiter, but this appearance won’t last long.
- You still must take care of your teeth. Teeth whitening doesn’t exempt you from proper daily flossing and brushing, nor does it exempt you from seeing your Johns Creek dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning. Whitening treatments are powerful, but they are not self-cleaning, and their longevity depends on how diligent you are about basic oral health care.
See Your Johns Creek Dentist for Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening is sometimes called the lunch-hour smile makeover because you can get a whiter smile in about an hour. At Hello Family Dental, the dental practice of Dr. Mitul Patel that serves Johns Creek, Duluth, Alpharetta, and surrounding areas, we offer ZOOM! whitening. This powerful agent is applied to the front of your teeth, a laser light is positioned on your teeth, and the operation is programmed to get the job done. Contact our dental office to schedule your consultation and find out what cosmetic dentistry procedures are right for you.
