Where do the stains come from?
The outermost layer of the teeth is the enamel. The white colour of the dentin underneath combines with the scattering of light from the enamel and gives our teeth the whiteness we see. A thin coating called pellicle is formed on the enamel which picks up stains, and there are pores on the tooth enamel which retains the stains.
Food habits that include coffee, wine, smoking or food that stains; bad dental routines and a long hiatus from the dentist will reflect on your teeth. In fact, you will find your teeth lacking in the perfect white shine to be replaced by a dull yellow colour. It lowers your confidence a lot and you begin to lose your perfectly shaped smile- so what do you do?
Getting teeth whitening treatment is usually recommended every six months or so. Aesthetica Dental Clinic in Kolkata administers the best teeth whitening treatment in Kolkata to its esteemed patients.
What is the treatment process?
The most common treatment is using a gel that is directly applied to the tooth surface. The gel usually contains some form of hydrogen peroxide. While this gel can be used at home, in clinics the gel is usually laser activated to allow more effective bleaching.
While in the clinic the mouthpiece is fitted and the gel is kept in contact for about an hour with laser activation, it is slightly different for home.
The doctor will provide you with a mouthpiece and a whitening gel for a specified number of hours for a few weeks.
Also, note while there are some mouthpieces- gels and strips that are available over the counter, they don’t fit as well as a clinical mouth-piece and are not equally effective.
The next step is using a regular whitening toothpaste for at least a month. As long as it has fluoride, it will whiten your teeth. Now, a mouthwash is pretty useless as a whitener, more importantly, alcohol-based mouthwashes will dry your mouth out- increasing the possibility for staining. However, a mouth wash keeps bacteria away and reaches those hidden corners of your mouth. Try using it with whitening toothpaste. Pastes have a special polishing agent and micro abrasives that help scrub of surface stains on regular use. However, note that a toothpaste won’t be effective if you keep adding stains to your teeth by having coffee and other teeth-staining products.
Whitening your teeth is not an overnight process. It involves a series of steps, including a daily routine for regular dental care, combined with a whitening schedule. Also regular follow up visits to the dentist are very important.
Also note, if you have other dental problems-like cavities or gum infection, the whitening process cannot be done without first treating the dental problems.