Teeth Whitening

Causes of yellow teeth 

Before knowing teeth whitening methods, it’s worthy to know the causes behind yellow teeth first:
Many factors take roles in teeth pigmentation and yellowing, perhaps the most important of which is having some kinds of food, smoking, having caffeinated drinks and coffee excessively, and other factors that cause yellow spots to appear on the enamel layer. And by time, the frequent wrong usage leads to turning the enamel layer to yellow color too. 

This layer can be removed with teeth brush and paste, or in the dental clinic where the dentist removes it by chemical teeth whitening methods or cleans plaque layer by the interaction of many chemical materials with the pigmentation layer till it removes completely out of the enamel layer.

Teeth whitening targets teeth’ outer layer that is called the enamel, which varies in color from one person to another as a result of genetic factors in the first place, and there are several other factors that can affect the whiteness of the teeth, including:

• Excessive consumption of drinks that works on teeth pigmentation like tea and coffee.
• Ignoring daily teeth hygiene causes plaque layer formation.
• Some diseases that affect the enamel layer.
• Smoking.
• Thinning of the tooth enamel layer due to aging.
• Having some antibiotics.
• Excessive usage of fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Genetic causes.
• Eating unhealthy food.
• Mouth dryness and insufficient saliva. 
• Breathing through the mouth, not the nose. 

What is teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening is a non-surgical procedure that restores teeth’ normal color in addition to removing pigmentations resulting from various environmental factors. Teeth whitening occurs in dental clinics or specialized dental cosmetic centers. Teeth whitening usually takes one session or several consecutive sessions according to the different used techniques, and teeth’ condition.  

Teeth whitening steps:

All teeth whitening techniques have essential steps in common which are:

• Cleaning teeth: initially, it’s very important to undergo teeth cleaning sessions to remove plaque deposits from teeth’ walls.
   
• Covering the gums: the gums are exposed to inflammation when the bleach is used in high concentrations, that’s why a protector should be placed on the gums to avoid any complications. 
   
• Placing the bleaching material:  the bleaching material is distributed suitably and equally on teeth to have a unified white color. 
   
• Teeth whitening results: every patient needs several consecutive sessions that the dentist determines according to teeth’ condition to obtain the required results. The number of the sessions depends on the current teeth’ color and the target color.

Teeth whitening gel

Teeth whitening gel appearance made a medical revolution in teeth whitening techniques due to its wonderful results that appear in record time.

• Teeth whitening gel depends on using a material called (carbamide dioxide) that is distributed equally on teeth to obtain unified color.
• Plastic templates are placed on teeth to stabilize the gel for about 15-20 mins.
• The patient may need two sessions or more to obtain the final results, the dentist determines the number of sessions needed according to each person’s condition. 

Teeth whitening candidates

Before processing teeth whitening many conditions should exist:

• Teeth should be in a good condition
• Absence of any conditions that prevent teeth whitening like cavities, thinning of the enamel layer, or presence of gums’ inflammations.

Before processing teeth whitening

• Regularly check on your teeth at the dental clinic to early diagnose any cavities or gingivitis that could exist, and to treat them immediately.
• Ensure there is nothing that could prevent teeth whitening
• inform your dentist about your medical condition whether you have chronic or viral diseases. 
• Determine your teeth’ color degree and share it with your dentist.
• Stay away from foods and drinks that change your teeth’ color before and after the teeth whitening procedure.

Before and after teeth whitening procedure

The results differ from one person to another according to teeth’ health and their color degree, healthy teeth that don’t have cavities and that have strong structure respond better to the whitening procedure and give fast and good results, while weak teeth won’t respond fast enough, However, repeating sessions may lead to desired results. 

The dentist determines the color degree of the teeth the patient wants before starting the teeth whitening procedure.
teeth whitening gives direct results up to 8 degrees whiter than the original color. 

Teeth whitening with laser gives quicker results than chemical whitening, as in just two sessions desired results can be reached, while chemical whitening may need more sessions to give the same results, knowing that teeth whitening results are not permanent, which means that the procedure should be done from time to time to get white teeth permanently.  

Teeth whitening methods:

Teeth whitening procedure that the dentist takes the supervising of has advantages and disadvantages when comparing with teeth whitening products that don’t need a prescription. 

Chemical teeth whitening

Chemical teeth whitening methods differ according to the used material; carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, as when using in the mouth carbamide peroxide breaks up and turns to hydrogen peroxide and urea. 

Most studies show that teeth whitening is safe and effective, no evidence shows that the jelly substances that contain 10% of carbamide peroxide (what nearly equals3.6% of hydrogen peroxide) causes any damage to the enamel layer of teeth. High concentrations of carbamide and hydrogen peroxide weaken the enamel layer. 

• Teeth whitening starts with cleaning teeth and filling the surrounding cavities, and ends with exanimating gums and ensuring that it’s healthy.
• The dentist puts a protective barrier on the gums
• Using hydrogen peroxide gel with the percentage of 15-35% then suck it, then applying it again several times
• Some rays may be used to accelerate the chemical reaction of the whitening
• This method whitens teeth 4-6 times when applied for 40 minutes comparing with teeth’ original color before applying.
• Templates are put tightly on the teeth as whitening is done effectively.

It is also known as light teeth whitening, and laser teeth whitening is the latest and most popular and best type of teeth whitening, due to its quick and immediate results. Whitening is applied using chemical substances, there are many techniques to whitening teeth with laser, the zoom technique is the most modern method to whitening teeth with laser. 

Laser teeth whitening method

• Whitening teeth gel is distributed on teeth in a low concentration.
• Laser is then shed on teeth for about 15-30 minutes
• The laser stimulates the bleaching material placed on the teeth; and interacts with it
• The session takes about 15-30 minutes
• When the session is finished the patient can go home and go about normal life.