How Should You Whiten Your Teeth?
There are many different ways of whitening teeth. You can use whitening toothpaste, at-home whitening trays, bleaching at the dental office, or even bleaching plus laser whitening at the dental office. It can be confusing choosing the best technique for your case. The following factors should guide you when choosing how to bleach your teeth and whether to do it at home or at a cosmetic dentistry office:
The Type of Discoloration You Have
There are two basic forms of dental discolorations:
- Intrinsic discolorations that affect the inner tissues of the teeth
- Extrinsic discolorations that affect the outer surface (enamel) of the teeth
It is relatively easy to get read of extrinsic discolorations, and you may even be able to use at-home whitening kits for them. Extrinsic discolorations, on the other hand, are difficult to get rid of and you will definitely need a dentist's help for them.
The Extent of Your Discoloration
Dental bleaching products mainly use peroxide as their main bleaching agent. As a rule, the higher the peroxide concentration, the greater the bleaching power of the treatment. However, higher concentrations of peroxide are also associated with greater side effects. If your teeth are severely discolored, you will need a strong bleaching agent to whiten them to a reasonable shade. However, since you will be using a strong peroxide concentration or using your whiteners for long periods, it's best to take care of this form of whitening at the dentist's office.
Whether Your Teeth Are Hypersensitive
Some people have teeth that are extra sensitive to external stimuli: mainly hot and cold food, drinks, and even air. If you are such a person, then it means your enamel is worn-out or there are cracks in your enamel that are allowing the stimuli to affect the internal teeth structures. In such a case, you should be careful with bleaching products since they are meant for the external surface of the teeth. You should then avoid at-home whitening and let the dentist improve your teeth in a manner that doesn't cause further sensitivity complications for you.
Your Whitening Budget
Lastly, your budget will also play a huge role in your teeth whitening endeavors; whitening prices differ by techniques. For example, teeth-whitening toothpastes are probably the cheapest while bleaching at the dentist's office will probably cost you the most. Note, however, that the cheaper options may not give you the best results if your teeth are severely discolored.