As you go through life, your bright smile will naturally fade. Diet and lifestyle can dull your shine, leaving your teeth looking dull or stained. The natural passage of time can also cast shade on your sparkle as your white enamel thins to reveal more of the darker layers below.
Thankfully, you can do many things to make your smile appear brighter. Dental hygiene appointments can scale back tartar, which can not only impact the appearance of your smile but also lead to cavities. Improved at-home hygiene can also freshen your smile.
But teeth whitening offers the potential to restore your white smile, leaving it with a radiant glow. With so many different types of whitening treatment, it helps to understand what the process entails and which option is best for you.
Read on for our brief guide to brightening your smile using teeth whitening.
What Causes Staining and Discolouration?
There are many reasons for the changes in your smile’s appearance. If you’re a smoker, nicotine is an obvious contributor to brown or yellow discolouration. Drinking cola, black coffee, tea, or red wine can also cause stains, as can berries, spices, chocolate, and certain sauces.
The surface of your teeth may feel smooth, but they’re covered with microscopic pores. Like the pores of your skin, dirt can become trapped in these tiny holes, gradually changing the appearance of your tooth.
Thinning dental enamel can also make teeth look faded. As the outer layer of teeth thins with age, the darker dent below becomes more apparent.
Other potential causes include illness, dental infections, and the side effects of certain medications.
For the type of extrinsic staining caused by lifestyle and diet, you can choose teeth whitening.
Do Shop Bought Teeth Whitening Products Work?
Whether you’re shopping online or on the high street, you’ll find plenty of products that promise to whiten your smile. These include toothpaste and DIY whitening kits. With lots of options available, how do you know which works well and which could be harmful?
Whitening toothpaste typically includes an additive to remove stains from the surfaces of your teeth. This additive is often a mild abrasive ingredient like charcoal. While it can subtly improve lightly stained teeth, it’s unlikely to make a big difference for most staining and discolouration.
This type of toothpaste is also only beneficial in moderation. Brushing your teeth for prolonged periods could damage your enamel, increase sensitivity, and raise the risk of cavities.
Whitening gels, kits, and strips might make bigger claims, but there are legal restrictions on the amount of peroxide these products may contain. The level is significantly lower than the level featured in prescribed whitening products available from dental clinics. This means the products are only effective to a degree.
However, despite low levels of active ingredients, unsupervised whitening treatments can be harmful. This risk only increases when you choose to buy illegal whitening products.
Enlighten Vs Boutique: Which Option Is Best for Me?
At Durham Dental Implant Suite, we’re proud to offer two of the leading professional teeth whitening treatments – Enlighten and Boutique. We prescribe and supervise both treatments, but the smile transformation takes place in the comfort of your own home.
Enlighten guarantees to whiten your smile to a B1 Vita shade. This is the most natural shade of white on the scale dentists use to assess tooth colour. You’ll wear a custom-made whitening tray with special gels every night. Over the next two to three weeks, your teeth will gradually whiten.
Boutique works in much the same way. However, with different options available, you can choose whether to whiten during the day or overnight.
Why Is Professional Whitening the Safest Option?
We only prescribe whitening if your smile is healthy enough to receive treatment. Before we can offer treatment, we need to check your teeth for weak enamel and cavities. If we find any issues, we’ll need to treat these before providing whitening.
Because you’ll receive a custom-made whitening tray that’s specifically designed to fit your teeth, the whitening solution will be held against your teeth exactly as required. This not only provides you with an even coverage, but it stops the solution from causing harm to other parts of your smile.
Teeth Whitening in Durham
Professional teeth whitening treatments are convenient and safe ways to enhance your smile. With Enlighten and Boutique whitening treatments, we have solutions to restore your confidence.
Contact us today to book your teeth whitening consultation.
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