Teeth Whitening

Teeth Whitening in Budd Lake

Healthy teeth are important in maintaining good oral health and dental care, but even healthy teeth don’t always look their best. You may have strong gums and firm, straight teeth, but the types of food you eat or personal habits may have stained or discolored your teeth so that your smile isn’t all that white or bright.

Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem. While it’s true that there are off-the-shelf products that you may be able to buy in a store to whiten your teeth, the best way to get whiter, brighter teeth is with the help of a professional. Here’s how you can do it.

The first thing you should do if you want your teeth whitened is to get an examination by a Budd Lake dentist. This can be either a regular dentist or a cosmetic dentist if you want to go straight to someone with expertise in making teeth look good. The examination will give the dentist a good idea of the state of your teeth and will make it clear which options are the best ones for you.

The exam may also uncover some things you weren’t aware of, such as the possibility of gingivitis or another gum disease. Always have your teeth examined by a professional first before going ahead with any teeth whitening procedures. If you get a clean bill of health, you can move on to the next step.

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THE WHITENING PROCESS

Once the exam is finished, your dentist will go over the whitening options. If it’s been discovered during the exam that there may be issues of sensitivity with certain teeth, your dentist can take that into account for a much more effective and comfortable experience.

Whitening uses two different techniques depending on the type of teeth you have. If you have any teeth on which a root canal has been performed and there are no nerves, a “non-vital” whitening method may be used since the stain is likely coming from inside the tooth.

For teeth that still have nerves, a “vital whitening” process is used. This has a few methods of application, such as applying a gel to the teeth. The gel is “activated” by using a laser or applying some other form of light or heat to start the bleaching process.

You may even have a mold taken of your teeth, which you can bring home, so you can carry on the whitening process on your own. This involves filling the molds with gel and wearing them for several hours a day. It’s a slower process but achieves similar results for people with more patience and time.

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Whatever your case is, whitening teeth can be a major step in having a great smile, but it will only last as long as you take care of it. Continuing to smoke or drink dark colored liquids like wine and coffee will eventually reduce the whiteness of your teeth. But you can always repeat the process if you like the results.

For more information contact our dental team at Gentle Family Dentistry today.