It’s a fact of life. People find bright smiles filled with white teeth attractive. If your teeth are from white and your smile much dingier than you want it to be, teeth whitening in Aspen can help. We’re going to break down your range of options for achieving a whiter and brighter smile.
What causes stained and discoloured teeth?
Everything you eat and drink passes by or between your teeth. Many of the things you eat and drink leave telltale stains on your teeth’ enamel — especially richly coloured foods and drinks like curries, coffee, tea, and red wine. The nicotine and tar in cigarette smoke also stain and discolour your teeth.
Not every cause of tooth discolouration is within your control. As you age, your teeth’ enamel wears away and reveals the yellowish dentin underneath. Your body produces more of that yellowish dentin in response to trauma or injury, as well. Antihistamines, high blood pressure medication, antipsychotics, and antibiotics are taken as a child can also change the colour of your teeth. So too can infections.
How does teeth whitening work?
Bleaching products in teeth whiteners can lighten teeth by several shades. The active ingredient is either hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. Dentists use much stronger bleaching ingredients (up to 45% peroxide) than you’ll find in over-the-counter whitening products (approximately seven percent peroxide) because they can do so safely and adjust the strength of the products to your needs. Bleaching products do not resolve discolouration caused by the side effects of medication, infection, or trauma. Porcelain veneers and other synthetic cosmetic dentistry materials do not respond well to bleaching compounds.
What are your options for teeth whitening?
Whitening by a dentist near you
Your dentist in Aspen will use the strongest bleaching products tailored to precisely your goals and oral health to achieve the safest and fastest possible results — in as little as one hour.
Over-the-counter teeth whitening kits
Over-the-counter whitening kits are available in many grocery stores and nearly every drugstore. DIY kits are less expensive than having a dentist at Montreaux Dental Clinic perform teeth whitening near you. On the other hand, over-the-counter kits use bleaching compounds that are only one-fifth the strength. As a result, multiple applications may be required for less significant results. Repeated applications can result in damage to your gums.
Whitening at home with support from your Aspen dentist
If you want to whiten at home but also keep your dentist involved, dentist-supervised at-home whitening offers the best of both worlds. After assessing your teeth and reviewing your goals, your dentist can dispense whitening trays to use at home, but made from stronger bleaching compounds than available in DIY kits.
Whitening strips
Whitening strips — thin, plastic strips coated with a mild bleaching compound — can be purchased at drug and grocery stores and applied to your teeth yourself. They’re commonly used twice a day for a couple of weeks but can cause gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. Because they’re not custom fit to your mouth, they don’t fit well or completely on all teeth which can lead to inconsistent results.
Whitening rinses
Mouthwash isn’t in contact with your teeth long enough to make a significant difference to the colour of your teeth. There are more and more whitening rinses — marketed as different than mouthwash — offered on the market. Using those whitening rinses twice daily for three months may, according to the manufacturers, produce some whitening effect.
Whitening toothpaste
Toothpaste that is marketed to whiten your teeth doesn’t contain bleaching compounds. Instead, they use mild abrasives like baking soda, silica, calcium carbonate, and aluminum oxide to remove surface stains. For some patients’ teeth, whitening toothpaste is too abrasive to be a healthy option.
Just how effective any of these whitening products and services will depend on the colour of your teeth and the cause of your discolouration. Before you embark on any cosmetic dentistry process, you should reach out to a dentist about teeth whitening in Aspen. Ask them what they recommend for you and your goals.