Tooth Whitening

By Joseph Preziosi Jr., DMD

There are many causes for discolored teeth. The things we eat and drink, medications we take, all types of tobacco products and aging all contribute to the color of our teeth.

The biggest food culprits are dark types of fruit, fruit juices, wines,coffee, teas and sodas. Medications can include tetracycline antibiotics and others, while tobacco products of all kinds whether smoked or chewed cause the most discoloration of any of the categories discussed. Your dentist can determine the source or sources of your discoloration and prescribe the best whitening system for you. In most cases the results are striking.

Don't be misled by unproven and ineffective over the counter whitening products. None of the over the counter products have an active whitening ingredient that is as effective as the one used in the products you can get only from a doctor nor is the concentration of the active whitening ingredient as high. Also, most of the over the counter products are either brush on or strips. Brush on products have a very short contact time with the teeth because saliva in addition to lip and tongue movements wipe the product off the teeth, while strips are only designed to cover the front six teeth. This means that these products are much less effective in whitening teeth and consequently take far longer to achieve the results you're looking for. There results also tend to be incomplete because they fail to address the teeth that are further back in the mouth but which are still very apparent when you smile.

In office procedures even though they are done in a dental office also have their draw backs. Most employ some type of laser or other light source. Be aware that no laser or any other light source can change the color of your teeth. Their function is to activate the bleaching gel causing free radicals (the molecules that actually whiten teeth) to form at a faster rate than they would other wise thus speeding up the whitening process. The down side to these procedures are that again only the front six to eight teeth can be isolated and bleached, while twelve teeth are typically visible when you smile. Two, if you would like further whitening it can not be done at a discount, because you have to take up the same amount of office time every time you have the procedure done. And lastly, you have to keep your mouth open and have your lips and cheeks retracted for an hour and a half at a time.

Home whitening kits allow for all your teeth to be whitened since the trays are custom made to your mouth and teeth. They allow discounted second and third bleaching procedures since the trays are already made no additional office time is required. They have the most effective and most concentrated active whitening ingredient available which stays in intimate contact with the teeth for as long as the trays stay in your mouth. The only real draw back to this procedure is that you have to find time to wear the trays every day. Some patients find that they can best do this while they commute to and from work while others prefer to sleep with them in. Some patients will do both so they get the results they want as quickly as possible. The tray system gives the greatest flexibility in when and where a patient can use it and how may times the patient can use it until the desired results are achieved. This is why home whitening kits are the treatment of choice for so many patients. So see your dentist today and start seeing the results you want tomorrow.

About the Author:

Joseph Preziosi Jr., DMD
New Jersey Cosmetic Dentist
phone: (908) 654-7100
fax: (908) 654-8764
email: Drpreziosi@aol.com
url: http://www.preziosidentistry.com/