Teeth Whitening procedure – Aims and benefits
Teeth whitening procedure refers to the cosmetic process of lightening the teeth by removing all the discolorations and stain deposits on the teeth surfaces.
Tooth whitening is a very useful cosmetic dental procedure and must be practiced from time to time so that your teeth remain in best health. It gives you a great looking smile and a gorgeous glow to your personality. Tooth whitening is highly recommended by most of the dentists worldwide. Tooth whitening process is found to be effective mostly in cases of surface stains or extrinsic stains.
To be on a safer side, it is better to consult your dentist by showing your teeth prior to going for any teeth whitening procedure. If you decide to whiten your teeth at home, please continue reading to see how to whiten your teeth at home.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Background Information: Human Tooth Structure
The outer most surface of a human tooth is called enamel and the white color we see is due to the reflection / scattering of light falling on the enamel and greatly depends on the color of the dentin under the enamel. The whiteness of a tooth varies with the thickness and smoothness of enamel surface. The thinner enamel shows more of the dentinal color. Similarly the smooth surface of the enamel has some affects on the magnitude of light reflection. Smoother surface allows more light to reflect.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Background Information: Causes of Yellow and Stained Teeth
Every time you eat or drink something, you develop a thin coating on the enamel surface of your teeth that gives birth to stains on the enamel. Furthermore, the enamel itself contains small pores that promote stain deposition on the teeth surface. Moreover, improper cleaning, smoking frequently and drinking colored liquids like cola, coffee or tea are consider the strongest causes of getting yellow deposits on the enamel surface of your teeth.
Please note, these staining foods and drinks should not be consumed for at least 24 hours after teeth whitening.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Background Information: Basic Teeth Whitening Procedures
There are many methods of whitening your teeth however; the dentists all over the world recommend two types of teeth whitening procedures.
- Non vital whitening
- Vital Whitening
The difference is that vital whitening is mostly applied to the teeth with live nerves while the non vital whitening is preferred in cases when the teeth have undergone root canal treatment as in this case the stains come directly from teeth inside.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home – Whitening Toothpastes
In the market you may find several kinds of Whitening toothpastes. Such toothpastes contain abrasives that help in removal of the stain deposits on the enamel. However, these toothpastes don’t help in changing the color of teeth.
Remember that the teeth whitening procedures are not considered permanent solutions for your teeth whitening as after some time; you may get the stains back. However, the teeth whitening works well even for the whole year for those who care their teeth by avoiding heavy smoking or drinking coffee or tea frequently.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Warnings Associated with Sensitive Teeth Whitening
Although tooth whitening is a harmless procedure, one must take care for more sensitive teeth. Pregnant women should avoid the cosmetic procedure of teeth whitening till the delivery. Patients of diabetes and hepatitis must consult the doctor before carrying out the procedure.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home – A Simple Procedure
White teeth can add much to your personality. Fortunately, the research in medical science has made it simple and now you can follow the entire teeth whitening procedure at your own home! However, people having painful teeth or teeth sensitive to cold, teeth with crowns and people having their teeth enamel more gray than yellow, the teeth whitening at home may not prove to be more fruitful.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home : Basic Trays and Gels Method
For teeth whitening at home, you will need tray and gel type kits. There are many options available for teeth whitening. You may apply various shades to the teeth depending upon the whitening kit you choose and you can do all this with your own hands at home. The kits mostly consist of whitener in the form of whitening gel.
How to whiten your teeth at home – the procedure in brief
The procedure has the following easy steps:
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Step 1 – For teeth whitening at home, first of all you will have to clean your teeth by brushing them thoroughly so as to remove the loose stain particles deposited in your teeth.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Step 2 – Put the gel on the tooth surface thoroughly. Basically, the whitening get has the ingredients (mostly Peroxide) that will make bubbles on the teeth surface (enamel) and take off the stains leaving white tooth surfaces. The greater the percentage of peroxide in the gel, the whiter the tooth gets and the longer it stays.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Step 3 – After applying the gel on your teeth, you need to cover the gel by putting tray over your teeth. The tray must remain on your teeth for a definite period of time. The time varies, however, in most cases, it is better to put the tray for about 10 to 20 minutes for each separate gel application. Each counter kit has enough gel to fulfill 3 to 6 complete applications on all teeth.
Important Warning 1:
Keep the gel away from your gums. This is a whitening gel – a form of bleach – it may burn your gums, giving you the zingers. It may continue for 24-48 hours. If you start teeth whitening with a 2 minute test period, you can see if your trays fit well.
Important Warning 2:
You do not need to submerge your teeth with gel. If you used a tiny bit of gel drop in your trays, covering 2/3 of your teeth, that will be enough. The gel will bubble through the rest of the teeth.
You need only the gel and tray for teeth whitening at home
For teeth whitening at home, you will need tray and gel type kits. There are many options available for teeth whitening. You may apply various shades to the teeth depending upon the whitening kit you choose and you can do all this with your own hands at home. The kits mostly consist of whitener in the form of whitening gel.
You can also watch our videos on How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home .
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home : Selecting Tray for Best Fits Your Teeth
In the market, you may find a variety of Self Forming Trays. There is another type of tray that is called as boil-and-bite tray. Once you keep the tray in boiling water, it softens and then it has to be kept in the mouth so that the tray material gets molded to your teeth and the tray fits you perfectly and smoothly. It depends, if you have a small mouth, then you need to look for the custom tray, if you have a normal mouth then one tray fits-all is more suitable for you.
How to Whiten Your Teeth at Home Using Mini LED lights
Use of LED lights help the teeth whitening procedure by breaking down the gel ingredient i.e. hydrogen peroxide. This way the gel solution may penetrate easily into the teeth surfaces. You can get the maximum results from the teeth whitening procedures only with LED lights and may increase the gel performance up to 36% or even more. Mostly LED lights are made part of every good quality teeth whitening kit.
Accelerating LED lights
The procedure is simple, you need to brush your teeth with the provided gel and then cover your teeth with the tray. Turn on the LED light for about 15 minutes. If there are any technical problems with your LED lights, please check out the troubleshooting guide with pictures.