Practical Ways To Whiten Your Teeth

Achieve a great looking smile for the summer and beyond!

It surely can’t be too long before the greyness and rain subsides and the first signs of summer come into view. When it does, it seems to lift most of us and we generally tend to brighten up our appearances, buying summery and more colourful clothes ready for our holidays and outdoor festivities. It is also a time of year when we tend to see more patients at our Canterbury dental clinic who are looking to give their smile a boost for the summer as well.

One of the most common requests that we get is for whiter teeth and this isn’t surprising. The range of foods that we tend to consume, along with the general ageing process, can certainly take its toll on the colour of our teeth, leaving them often dull but sometimes quite discoloured and even badly stained.

In today’s blog then, we will take a look at four common ways that people try to whiten their teeth, along with our comments on how successful this might prove to be.

Whitening toothpastes

Let us start with this one as it is an easy one for people to try and is also the cheapest. Teeth whitening toothpastes are very popular thanks largely to some extensive marketing. Naturally, many of these adverts probably use models who already have great looking teeth, possibly achieved by other means. The fact is that teeth whitening toothpastes can only bring very limited success for the very simple reason that the amount of active whitening ingredient in these is very small compared to the amount allowed to be used in practices such as Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic. The reason for this is safety. The whitening agent is a form of bleach and if used incorrectly, could be dangerous. Because toothpastes are often in the reach of small children, allowing high quantities of this ingredient could have disastrous consequences.

Generally speaking, if you are thinking of using these, we would suggest that they may possibly be effective to a small degree in maintaining a whiteness achieved by other means. Used alone though, you are probably going to be disappointed with the results. Some of these toothpastes may also use extra abrasive ingredients to remove staining and this can damage the tooth enamel if used in excess.

Scale and Polish

The scale and polish procedure carried out by a dental hygienist is used primarily to maintain healthy gums and to remove tartar that has collected on the teeth and gum line. One side effect of this is that the surface of the teeth will become smoother, making it more difficult for staining materials to attach to it. In addition to this, the final brushing part of the treatment will help to remove some surface staining. In addition to having healthier gums, most patients find that their teeth look and feel better afterwards with some improvement often being seen in the whiteness of their teeth. We do recommend that everyone sees a dental hygienist and we are glad that some see an improvement in the colour of their teeth. For real and significant improvements though, the next two treatments are the most successful.

Teeth whitening

If you really want to know how to whiten your teeth, look no further than our popular and fast acting teeth whitening procedure. This is a non-invasive treatment that is suitable for most patients, with a few exceptions which include those who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding.  As mentioned earlier, a much higher amount of the active whitening ingredient can be used in this treatment due to the training that our clinicians undergo to ensure that you have not only a very effective, but also a safe, procedure. We are sure that anyone who undergoes this popular cosmetic dental treatment will be very happy with the outcome.

Porcelain dental veneers

While a teeth whitening procedure can produce excellent results; for some patients this might not work as well as with others. This is mostly the case where teeth are very heavily stained, such as might be the case with a heavy smoker. Other issues such as having small chips or cracks in your teeth mean that even whitening them won’t change these flaws which will still be present and possibly highlighted even more by the new whiteness.

In these cases, we may recommend that our patients consider having porcelain veneers fitted to the front of their teeth instead. While this usually does require some invasive dentistry, the results of this treatment can last for around ten years before the veneers need to be replaced. This is a great way of not only having whiter teeth but ones that lack the tiny flaws, like chips, that can really spoil a smile.  If you are concerned about having ‘dazzling’ white teeth, please don’t. Veneers can be adjusted to the whiteness you want and we will discuss this with you during your consultation at our Canterbury dentist.

We hope that this blog has helped you to understand your options if you are hoping to have whiter teeth. We are always happy to offer help and advice if you are unsure about the best route to take in your situation. We strongly recommend that you don’t try any DIY teeth whitening that you might find on the internet. At best, these don’t work and at worst, they can significantly and permanently damage your teeth. Always take professional advice on these matters.

If you would like to discover more about having your teeth whitened, or would like to book your initial consultation, please call Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic today on 01227 463529.