Methods
According to the American Dental Association, different whitening include: in-office bleaching, which is applied by a professional dentist; at-home bleaching, which is used at home by the patient; over-the-counter, which is applied by patients, over a counter; and options called non-dental, which are offered at mall kiosks, spas, salons etc. There is also the option of whitening one's own teeth by natural teeth bleaching methods.
The ADA recommends to have one's teeth checked by a dentist before undergoing any whitening method. The dentist should examine the patient thoroughly: take a health and dental history (including allergies and sensitivities), observe hard and soft tissues, placement and conditions of restorations, and sometimes x-rays to determine the nature and depth of possible irregularities.
The whitening shade guides are used to measure tooth color. These shades determine the effectiveness of the whitening procedure, which may vary from two to seven shades. The effects of bleaching can last for several months, but may vary depending on the lifestyle of the patient. Dentures can also be whitened using denture cleaners.
White-spot decalcifications may also be highlighted and become more noticeable directly following a whiting process, but with further applications the other parts of the teeth usually become more white and the spots less noticeable. Bleaching is not recommended if teeth have decay or infected gums. It is also least effective when the original tooth color is grayish and may require custom bleaching trays. Bleaching is most effective with yellow discolored teeth. However, whitener does not work where bonding has been used and neither is it effective on tooth-color filling. Other options to deal with such cases are the porcelain veneers or dental bonding.
Internal staining of dentin can discolor the teeth from inside out. Internal bleaching can remedy this. If heavy staining or tetracycline damage is present on a patient's teeth, and whitening is ineffective (tetracycline staining may require prolonged bleaching, as it takes longer for the bleach to reach the dentin layer), there are other methods of whitening teeth. Bonding, which also masks tooth stains, is when a thin coating of composite material is applied to the front of a person's teeth and then cured with a blue light. A veneer can also mask tooth discoloration.
Read more about this topic: Tooth Bleaching
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