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A good smile gives you self-confidence. However, what do you do when your teeth are not as white as you might wish? Teeth whitening is a very common operation nowadays and there are many procedures that help us get a great smile. With such results, going to a dentist becomes a pleasure.

Teeth whitening is a procedure that lightens teeth and removes stains and discoloration. The whitening of teeth is a cosmetic dentistry formula recommended for patients with healthy, un-restored teeth and strong gums. People with yellow tones to their teeth respond best.

However, the whitening procedure is not recommendable in the case of children under 16, pregnant women, patients with allergies or with sensitive teeth or of those who have gum diseases. In addition, smokers or persons with brown colored teeth should not expect great results if they apply for this particular cosmetic dentistry method.

One can classify this procedure by using two different approaches: at-home bleaching (with whitening strips, bleaching gel, whitening toothpastes or other different systems brought from stores, from the dentist or through the Internet) and in-office bleaching.

TV commercials promote on a frequent basis various whitening toothpastes. Indeed, several toothpastes contain gentle polish or chemical agents. They provide a better clean. However, whitening toothpastes do not contain bleach as the over-the-counter and professional products do and therefore they are not enough to enter the category of whitening cosmetic dentistry methods.

If you decide to whiten your teeth at home, whitening strips and bleaching gel are among the most common ways. By using these products, you will have to follow a 14-day treatment for the duration of which you have to brush your teeth with gel or put the strips on your teeth for 30 minutes, twice a day. Although the costs are not very high, the results are visible after 4 months.

Another home teeth whitening option is to use products bought from different drug stores, from websites or from a dentist. In such situations, costs are a little higher than those of the whitening gel or whitening strips, but the results are noticeable in about 4 weeks.

Undertaking this procedure at home involves a few risks. For this reason, you should keep in mind a few things. First, it is preferable to listen to the recommendation of others who may have used the products that you intend to buy. Try to use a kit that allows some customization of the mouthpiece, because there are some that come with a mouthpiece moldable to some degree. These are better than the ones with a standard stock mouthpiece. Second, if you notice an increased sensitivity to hot or cold foods and beverages or a change in your gums’ color, you should stop using that product and see your dentist immediately.

In-office teeth whitening is much safer and has better results. This procedure takes 30 up to 90 minutes spent at the dentist and may require three appointments with your dentist. At first, the dentist will apply a special gel on the gums to protect them from the whitening agents and after that, he or she will apply the whitening gel. The most common whitening agent used is hydrogen peroxide.

With such a cosmetic dentistry procedure, the dentist uses light over the place where the whitening agent goes. Some dentists started using laser as a high-speed alternative to conventional whitening procedures. Although this technology satisfies its beneficiaries, it is still too new and too expensive to justify its general use. Apart from that, data on the safety or effectiveness of using laser for teeth whitening has not yet become public.

Irrespective of the teeth whitening method you use, you must keep in mind that whitening is not a permanent solution and stains will come back. Re-whitening is a cosmetic dentistry correction possible to do at home or in-office, after a period of 6 to 12 months.

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