By Dr. Michael Handler
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It&#;s very easy to get confused between getting your teeth whitened and getting them cleaned. Even though most people realize there&#;s a difference, when it comes to booking your appointment it&#;s something we always have to confirm to make sure you&#;re booked for the right procedure. In case you aren&#;t 100% clear on the distinction, we&#;ve boiled it down to a few vital points that will help you know what to ask for to make sure you&#;re getting what you had in mind.
The main goal of a teeth cleaning appointment is to remove plaque and tartar from the surface of your teeth. This helps to prevent tooth decay and avoid gum disease. The procedure is important for your ongoing oral health and the condition of your mouth, which should be a goal for everyone.
Dentists usually recommend having a professional teeth cleaning every six months. The technical term for this procedure is dental prophylaxis, which means it&#;s a preventive treatment. During the process, our qualified dental hygienist will use special instruments to scrape the plaque and tartar off the surface of your teeth. It&#;s not possible to remove these just by daily brushing and flossing, no matter how diligent you are. The remaining accumulation creates a breeding ground for bacteria and acids that erode the enamel of teeth, causing cavities to form.
As positive as regular teeth cleaning is for your oral health, it doesn&#;t usually produce a major change in your tooth colour. The purpose of tooth whitening is to remove stains, which is mainly a cosmetic function. Your teeth can become discoloured by various kinds of food and drink, smoking, medications and health problems. Plaque usually has a yellowish tint, so after its removal you might see some improvement in your tooth colour, but most dental patients want a brighter smile than a cleaning can deliver.
An in-office tooth whitening procedure uses chemical bleaching agents. Most whitening products contain hydrogen peroxide or other substances, which are activated by heat or a blue light. The process usually takes about an hour, and&#;depending on the shade of whiteness you&#;re after&#;might require several visits to achieve the look you want. You can opt to make your teeth 6 to 8 shades lighter, and dentists typically take photos of the various stages of the process so you can see the results at the end.
In-office whitening lasts until your teeth start to get stained again, but you can make this take longer by doing in-home touch-ups. To do this, you&#;ll need to have your dentist take an impression of your teeth and manufacture custom dental trays to fit your mouth. You&#;ll purchase a supply of the bleaching gel and given instructions on how to use it at home.
Both types of whitening procedures can occasionally cause tooth sensitivity to develop. This is nothing to worry about and will probably disappear after a couple of days.
Although tooth whitening is popular, it is not a necessity for good health. Its importance depends entirely on your personal preferences. If you feel embarrassed about your stained teeth, or are in the public eye a lot, tooth whitening can give your self-confidence a boost. If maintaining a particular image is a priority for you, a dazzling smile may be very important.
Teeth cleaning, however, is an important part of your oral hygiene program, and something you should budget to have done regularly whether you opt for tooth whitening or not. Stains themselves aren&#;t harmful and don&#;t damage your health, and often you can prevent deep-seated stains from forming in the first place by brushing and flossing correctly and having frequent professional cleanings.
Good oral hygiene is especially important for people with compromised immune systems, as well as pregnant women who shouldn&#;t have tooth whitening until after the baby&#;s birth.
For more information on getting your teeth cleaned or whitened, please call our dentists in Scarborough at 416-267- to schedule an appointment, or click here to book online.
With the rise in non-invasive dentistry, the focus has shifted somewhat from routine dentistry and now more and more patients are coming into practices seeking treatment that can make their smile look more aesthetically pleasing. And surprisingly to some, there are a couple of really simple measures that can be taken to get you the smile you want. Teeth cleaning vs teeth whitening, which is right for you?
The most common question we get asked now is definitely &#;what can I do to improve the appearance of my teeth?&#; and there are two particularly simple ways &#; teeth whitening and teeth cleaning.
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A teeth cleaning is designed to get rid of the external stains that build up on our teeth from things like dietary or smoking stains. For example, if it&#;s just external staining that&#;s built up over the years, then a good clean will easily get rid these stains. But, if the stain is more ingrained into the tooth, then teeth whitening is the best option. The main difference between teeth whitening and teeth cleaning is, the former cleans the surface of the tooth from extrinsic staining and the latter cleans the extrinsic and intrinsic staining whilst whitening the teeth at the same.
&#;Teeth whitening does no damage to enamel&#;
As we all age, the things we eat and the things we might smoke slowly begin to discolour our teeth and general cleaning might not get rid of that sort of stain. In which case a tooth whitening treatment might be a good option to get that whiteness back into your smile.
It&#;s a common misconception but in reality, teeth whitening does no damage to enamel and there&#;s no long-term effects of tooth whitening either. Of course, you&#;d have to have a dental check-up done first to make sure that everything&#;s healthy before you start. But once it&#;s been confirmed that your gums and teeth are healthy then teeth whitening is a simple and straight-forward procedure to go through.
It generally starts with some in practice work which then leads to some overnight teeth whitening at home for two weeks. And that gets rid of not only the external stains on the teeth but also changes the colour of the teeth back to the way they were when you were younger. The way that it works is the carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide gel opens up the tubules within the tooth and gets rid of the internal stains in the tooth whereas toothpaste will only get rid of the stains on the surface of the tooth, it won&#;t penetrate any deeper. So, for that reason, teeth whitening tends to be seen as the much more effective option.
&#;Nicola had been concerned about the uneven appearance of her teeth for many years and felt that they made her look older than she actually was. She decided that she wanted a straighter and whiter smile without looking too false. As Nicola&#;s teeth were quite worn we used reconstructive techniques over several months to build up her worn back teeth so that we had space for the final porcelain veneers on her front teeth. In this way we provided Nicola with a beautiful natural smile but also one that would provide her with good chewing function and last over time. Total treatment time 9-12 months.&#;
Anyone of any age can benefit from whitening. It is of course generally adult patients, 18 and over in most cases, that request teeth whitening procedures and there is no age limit on the procedure and teeth whitening begins to immediately improve the whiteness of the teeth. But make sure you don&#;t overdo teeth whitening.
It&#;s not uncommon for patients to also want to change the position of their teeth when they begin considering teeth whitening. For example, if a patient&#;s teeth are crooked, crowded or if they had braces when they were younger but now their teeth have started to move back then orthodontic procedures are a good way start to get the smile the way they want it.
&#;Not all treatments have to be extensive or expensive&#;
This could mean looking at options like fixed braces or Invisalign which is the more discreet choice. If you opt for a fixed brace, then it will be on your teeth at all times whereas Invisalign is removable. Although their mechanics are a little different, they both share the same goal. Both are designed to get your teeth nice and straight by the end.
&#;Darren came to see us to improve the look of his teeth before his wedding day- he was unhappy with the crooked front teeth and wanted a straighter whiter smile for his big day. We used invisalign to straighten his front teeth and whitened his teeth using Enlighten to give him he confidence to smile on his wedding day. Total treatment time 7 months.&#;
Other options include composite bonding. For example, let&#;s say a patient didn&#;t want braces and only required minor changes to achieve their desired outcome then composite bonding would be the most viable solution. And how it works is material is added to the existing tooth to change the shape or the colour of a tooth.
It really all depends on your own individual circumstance and the methods you are open to taking to get the smile you want. Dental examinations will give you a clear answer on what could work for you. For example, if a patient has a gap in between their teeth then their options to closing that space can range from orthodontic treatments such as braces to composite bonding to veneers or crowns.
And ultimately the decision that we take is based on the examination of your teeth and of course a consultation with you to decide what works best for you in that particular moment of time. We&#;ll take into consideration factors such as, the health of your teeth, your age, the costs involved and what you want to achieve.
There are a lot of treatment options available for anyone who wants to improve the look of their teeth. Dentistry has changed a lot in recent years so not all treatments have to be extensive or expensive. It could be a very simple treatment that can be done in a day or if it&#;s a more advanced case than the treatment might have to be a little more involved. But the bottom line is, we&#;re there to help patients feel comfortable about their teeth and to help them achieve the results that they want.
If you&#;d like to find out more about the treatments provided at our dentist in Bolton, you can get in touch by visiting our contact page.
If you&#;d like to find out more about your dental health such as FaQs about dental cavities, you can read one of our other blogs.
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If you want to learn more, please visit our website How to Start a Teeth Whitening Business the Right Way.