TEETH WHITENING € 250 TOOTH WHITENING: IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?
Start by talking to your dentist to help assess your need for tooth whitening. Many people maintain a pleasing white smile by flossing, brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, and having their teeth cleaned at their dentist as needed. Teeth naturally exhibit many different shades and a dazzlingly bright white coloration is not normally seen in most people. In addition, tooth color should blend with an individual’s complexion and other facial features. If tooth whitening is needed, a number of options are now available. These include in – surgery bleaching and at home bleaching (dispensed by your dentist) and whitening toothpastes. Why Do Teeth Discolor? • Tooth surface discoloration that can be removed when teeth are professionally cleaned may be caused by certain foods, coffee, tea and tobacco, and by deposits of tartar (calculus). • Tooth discoloration that goes deeper than just the tooth surface may be caused by childhood doses of the antibiotic tetracycline, certain illnesses, injury, and excessive fluoride. In some cases, bleaching can successfully lighten some of these discolorations. When Is Tooth Whitening Not Effective? • Only natural tooth structure can be lightened, not tooth colored fillings, tooth colored bonded restorations, crowns or veneers. • In situations where whitening is not effective, you may want to investigate other alternatives like veneers or dental bonding. Tooth Whitening Options • Professionally supervised bleaching products and services including bleaching at home services are widely available in Ireland. Over the counter products are not freely available because of a restriction in the EU Cosmetics Directive. • At the present time, the EU Commission is preparing amendments to the Cosmetics Directive that will allow only dentists to provide these products as part of a service to their patients. These new regulations will cover high strength products used mostly for in surgery bleaching and also lower strength bleaching products for use at home. For safety reasons the public should only use tooth whitening services provided by their dentist. • Dentists can perform bleaching in the dental surgery, or make custom-fitted mouth guard trays to fill with an appropriate peroxide gel for overnight bleaching at home. • Whitening Tooth Pastes may provide extra stain removal because they contain special chemical and polishing agents. Different people’s teeth react differently to bleaching. While tooth whitening procedures have become common, every person is different and must decide whether tooth whitening is a suitable and desirable option. Some individuals experience temporary tooth sensitivity or gum irritation from bleaching agents. A good place to start is by talking to your dentist to help assess your need for tooth whitening. |
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