Teeth whitening is a standard cosmetic dental procedure that many people opt for to gain a whiter, brighter smile, and increase their self-confidence. If you’re thinking about improving your smile but asking yourself, how does teeth whitening work? We have the answers.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
Age, smoking, and a diet high in dark pigmented food and drink change the colour of your teeth over time. The pigments penetrate soft or worn tooth enamel causing your teeth to appear grey or yellow.
Two types of stains occur, intrinsic and extrinsic tooth stains. Extrinsic stains are found on the tooth’s surface, while intrinsic stains are harder to remove and may require veneers or crowns to disguise the discolouration.
Professional teeth whitening uses carefully formulated bleaching agents to break up and disperse colour pigments on your tooth’s surface to give them a brighter appearance. Some formulations are activated by a specialised light, while others are chemically activated by blending multiple ingredients before applying to the tooth.
Common Teeth Whitening Treatments
At Dapto Dentists, there are common teeth whitening treatments patients can choose from, including chairside and at-home teeth whitening. Our dentist can examine your teeth to help you decide which is the best option for your smile.
Chairside Treatment
Chairside is the fastest of the whitening treatments and produces quicker visible results. While it costs more than take-home teeth whitening, you can see a difference in teeth colour in as little as one hour, and the whitening continues even after the treatment has ended.
Another added benefit of having a dentist perform your teeth whitening is that they adhere to dental training and regulations under regulatory bodies and are qualified to assess your teeth’ overall health. This means they can help assess any underlying issues that may be causing teeth discolouration.
At Dapto Dentist, we use Philips Zoom teeth whitening treatment.
Once your dentist has assessed your oral health, they will initiate a 1-hour treatment by first covering your lips and gums to leave only your teeth exposed.
Next, they will apply a hydrogen peroxide-based whitening gel to the teeth and use an LED curing light to activate the gel.
The gel works to lighten your teeth by penetrating your teeth’ enamel or top layer to reach the stains. The peroxide then interacts with the stains’ compounds to break down the chemical bonds that hold them together and disintegrate the discolouration.
After 15 minutes have passed, the gel is rinsed off, and the procedure is repeated up to two more times. By the end, you’ll have a smile up to 8 shades whiter.
At-Home Treatment
Take-home whitening treatments are growing in popularity due to their effectiveness and affordability, as well as convenience.
So, how does teeth whitening work at home? We supply you with a Philips Zoom At-Home kit with customised teeth whitening trays made through an Australian lab. These trays are filled with whitening gel, and you wear the trays over your teeth for a prescribed period.
The trays are typically worn for a few hours a day or overnight for about two weeks. While the take-home treatment gel is not quite as strong as chairside procedures and takes longer to achieve the desired result, they are equally effective.
Which Teeth Whitening Treatment Is Right For You?
For fast, effective, and safe teeth whitening, chairside is the best option. However, for mild staining or touch-ups between dental visits, at-home whitening treatments are convenient and simple to use.
If you suffer from discoloured teeth, call us at (02) 4210 9058 to book a consultation with our team of skilled dentists.
