Teeth whitening or bleaching is a treatment that aims to lighten the darkening of teeth and make them brighter. Teeth whitening treatment can remove stains on tooth enamel after consuming certain beverages, foods, and medications.
This procedure is an aesthetic treatment that can also help some satisfied people by their smile regain their self-confidence. In this context, our dental clinic is qualified for this application, and we will accompany you at every stage of the treatment.
Why is Teeth Whitening Used?
An unaesthetic smile can make your life complicated so much as to harm your social life. Different factors can contribute to the staining or yellowing of your teeth, such as:
- Consumption of tea, coffee, or fizzy drinks,
- Regular smoking
- Using certain drugs etc.
All these elements give your teeth their color, which varies depending on genetics or other factors, including age. Therefore, to regain healthy and pleasantly colored teeth, you must, first of all, follow our recommendations.
How is Teeth Whitening Done?
The teeth whitening procedure can be done in two different ways:
Home-type Teeth Whitening
In this application, we will take measurements and prepare your transparent plaques accordingly. The whitening agents you will use for whitening are delivered to you along with the unique plaques we have ready for you. You apply these whitening agents to the inside of your plaque and put them on your teeth before you go to sleep at night. The plaque should stay in your mouth until you wake up.
If you prefer to wear the plaque during the day, then you should keep the plaque in your mouth for at least 3-4 hours. During this period, you should not eat and especially not smoke. This application will continue for 4-5 days on average. With this application, your tooth color can be lightened up to 2 to 6 tones on average.
Office-type Teeth Whitening
We will do your whitening process in our clinic with a unique closed system light device. We will apply whitening agents on your teeth and activate the agents in the gels using a particular light source for 40 minutes. Depending on the condition of your teeth, a single session may not be sufficient for this procedure.
In both applications, it is crucial to stay away from drinks that can stain your teeth, such as tea, cigarettes, coffee, and acidic beverages, until at least one week after the treatment.
Warning: The most effective and long-term technique for better teeth whitening is the office type, laser bleaching, which we will do in our clinic. This is because at-home teeth whitening kits are subject to an even stricter restriction on the use of hydrogen peroxide. Here, the maximum limit is 0.1%, but this rate is at least 6% in office-type treatment.
Does Toothpaste Whiten Teeth?
In general, types of toothpaste cannot whiten your teeth. Long-term use can permanently damage your tooth enamel since anti-tartar and toothpaste produced for smokers contain abrasive substances to a large extent. In many studies, it has been seen that tooth whitening pastes create a much greater coloration than tooth brushing with water and are very unsuccessful in repairing the discoloration.
As a result, whitening toothpaste can cause abrasions or scratches on your teeth after a specific time. This will cause your teeth to become discolored in a much shorter time. The healthiest kinds of toothpaste are traditional, have no added properties, and most importantly, don’t contain sodium lauryl sulfate. Sodium lauryl sulfate is added to pastes because it causes the paste to foam in the mouth. However, this feature also causes dryness of the mouth and aphtha formations.
Is Teeth Whitening Painful?
Since the teeth whitening procedure, we will do in the clinic will be controlled, you will not have any pain. However, if you whiten uncontrollably, mainly applying whitening agents on your damaged enamel, you may feel severe pain.
What Should Be Paid Attention to After Teeth Whitening?
Here are some things to consider after teeth whitening:
- After the teeth whitening application, you should not consume drinks or foods containing colorant for at least one week. It would be best to avoid from acidic beverages.
- After your treatment, you should never brush your teeth hardly and prefer a soft toothbrush for a few days.
If you have intense sensitivity in your teeth, you can choose classical toothpaste produced for sensitivity. It is also beneficial for your gums.