What Is It?

Tooth whitening lightens teeth and helps to remove stains and discoloration. Whitening is among the most popular cosmetic dental procedures because it can greatly improve how your teeth look

What It's Used For

The most common reasons for teeth to get yellow or stained are:

• Using tobacco
• Drinking dark-colored liquids such as coffee, cola, tea and red wine
• Not taking good care of your teeth

Aging makes teeth less bright as the enamel gets thinner and the dentin becomes darker.

It is also possible to have stains inside the tooth. These are called intrinsic stains. For example, intrinsic stains can be caused by exposure to too much fluoride as a child while teeth are developing. Other causes include tetracycline antibiotics. They can stain a child's teeth if taken by a mother during the second half of pregnancy or by a child who is 8 years old or younger. Teeth are still developing during these years. Trauma may also darken a tooth.

Tooth whitening is most effective on surface (extrinsic) stains.

Whitening can be done in the dental office or at home

How It's Done

There are two main types of whitening procedures. Vital whitening is performed on teeth that have live nerves. Non-vital whitening is done on a tooth that has had root-canal treatment and no longer has a live nerve.

Follow-Up

Whitening is not a permanent solution. The stains will come back. If you smoke or consume a lot of staining foods or drinks, you may see the whiteness start to fade in as little as one month. If you avoid these sources of staining, you may not need another whitening treatment for 6 to 12 months.

In-office

In-office bleaching procedures generally use a light-cured protective layer that is carefully painted on the gums and papilla (the tips of the gums between the teeth) to reduce the risk of chemical burns to the soft tissues. The bleaching agent is either carbamide peroxide, which breaks down in the mouth to form hydrogen peroxide, or hydrogen peroxide itself. The bleaching gel typically contains between 10% and 44% carbamide peroxide, which is roughly equivalent to a 3% to 16% hydrogen peroxide concentration. The legal percentage of hydrogen peroxide allowed to be given is 0.1-6%. Bleaching agents are only allowed to be given via dental practitioners, dental therapists and dental hygienists.

Internal bleaching on non-vital teeth.

Internal staining of dentine can discolor the teeth from inside out. Internal bleaching can remedy this on root canal treated teeth. Internal bleaching procedures are performed on devitalized teeth that have undergone endodontic treatment (root canal treatment) but are discolored due to internal staining of the tooth structure by blood and other fluids that leaked in

At home

Most over-the-counter methods utilize either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide

Night-guard vital bleaching

Night guard vital bleaching is another increasingly popular method of dentist prescribed at home teeth whitening. These methods have gained popularity due to the fact that significant results can be achieved overnight without the removal of any tooth tissue making it a conservative method of lightening tooth shade.The process of night guard vital bleaching involves alginate impressions of the patients' teeth in the first visit, this is then casted into stone and a custom-made vacuum form tray is made. The patient is provided with bleaching solution, which is placed into the tray for use overnight.

Whitening toothpastes are different to regular toothpastes in a way that they contain a higher content of abrasives and detergents to fight off tougher stains