What You Should Know about Teeth Bleaching

When you think of teeth whitening, bleaching is generally the first type of treatment that you think of. Performed by your dentist, bleaching is one of the most successful ways of removing even the toughest stains on your teeth. You can also purchase at home kits which tend to be slightly less powerful than professional bleaching, but it is also a lot cheaper!

There are several methods you can choose from when it comes to bleaching your teeth. Here are a few things that you should know before you decide which one is right for you.

Tooth Bleaching by Dentists

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There are a few different methods of tooth bleaching that you can choose from, and all of them are designed to eliminate stains on your teeth. The most effective method is professional tooth bleaching and it is performed in your local dentist's office.

What many people do not realize is that there are two different types of professional bleaching and they are:

• External Bleaching
• Internal Bleaching

External Bleaching of Teeth

Basically, external bleaching is the one that everyone thinks of and it removes stains on the surface of the teeth. Usually a gel is placed over the teeth and is left for a short time period while the ingredients work to remove even the toughest tea, coffee and red wine stains.

Your dentist may also refer to external bleaching as “power bleaching” and it can involve either gel placed on the teeth by itself, or a light or laser' could also be used to activate the ingredients. Laser whitening is more expensive, but it does provide you with faster results. Another option that you have with external bleaching is known as combined bleaching. This is where you have some whitening sessions are done by the dentist and then you get a kit to use at home to complete the whitening process. The dentist may also just send the personally molded tray and bleaching gel home with you with specific instructions. This can be the least expensive of the dentist assisted bleaching methods.

Internal Tooth Bleaching

Internal bleaching is a process which most people haven't heard of. If you've had a root canal, you may notice that tooth is no longer as white as your other teeth. There are several different layers to our teeth and staining can occur on every single one of them. The outer surface, the enamel of our teeth, is the one we usually think of. However, the inner layers of our teeth can also become stained and external bleaching will not remove these stains.

Internal bleaching involves bleach crystals being placed inside the tooth. Either the bleaching is done in the office with the procedure being repeated a few times, or the bleach is left inside the tooth for several days. Then you will return to the dentist to have the filling removed and to see if you need to repeat the process to get even lighter results. This procedure has unpredictable results and you might be happier having a crown or veneer on the internally stained tooth.

Bleaching Kits

You can purchase bleaching kits at your drug or grocery store. These home kits generally have moldable trays that you can fit to your bite and bleaching gel that is weaker than the gel you get from your dentist. These kits usually require repeat treatments over a period of time and work well for surface stains.

Problems You Can Have from Teeth Bleaching

The main difficulty with bleaching methods is resulting sensitivity of teeth or gums. Many people notice sensitivity for a day or two after having professional whitening. Even with the less strong gel of home bleaching solutions, you may experience sensitivity. And if you don't follow the directions, you do set yourself up for damage of gums and teeth. If you have sensitive teeth or receding gums, you should check with your dentist before going ahead with whitening. And if you have decalcified spots in your teeth, these may become whiter.

Teeth bleaching is the main form of tooth whitening. If your teeth aren't badly stained, home bleaching will probably work fine for you. If you want very white teeth, are in a hurry, money is no object, or if your teeth are badly stained, you may prefer the results you get from a visit to your dentist.

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