You can whiten your teeth without a dentist’s help, but you will learn in this post that do-it-yourself teeth whitening is not the best option. There are many reasons for this, and just one is the fact that the teeth whitening duration will not last as long as it could.
How Long Does Professional Teeth Whitening from a Dentist Last?
A very important question is, “How long does teeth whitening last?” The answer depends on the types of foods and beverages you ingest. Diet and teeth whitening do not necessarily mix well. For example, if you regularly drink coffee or tea, these beverages will discolor your teeth. Wine can also smudge your teeth. Some foods dye your teeth as well. These include berries and beetroot. Since smoking also stains your teeth, consider quitting smoking before you have your teeth whitened.
If you smoke, eat or drink the foods and beverages listed above, you may have stained teeth six months after professional teeth whitening. Limiting the consumption of these foods and beverages and quitting smoking will cause the results to last between two and three years.
Do Teeth Turn Yellow After Whitening?
This can happen after using teeth whitening strips. There is dentin underneath the tooth enamel. When you use teeth whitening strips, they erode the tooth’s enamel so that the dentin can be seen more easily. Dentin has a yellowish hue, so that is why teeth appear yellow after whitening.
Do Teeth Turn Yellow Again After Whitening?
Your teeth may turn yellow again after whitening for several reasons. Foods and beverages like the ones listed above stain teeth because they contain teeth-staining pigments. These pigments get into the ridges and pits of the tooth’s surface and cause it to turn yellow. When you smoke or chew tobacco, the tar and nicotine create particularly stubborn stains.
With age, tooth enamel wears down so that you can see the yellowish dentin more easily. Failing to brush and floss your teeth causes plaque and tartar buildup, which leads to yellowing.
Can Teeth Be Permanently Whitened?
No, permanent teeth whitening is not something that we can achieve. You can maintain your teeth whitening results by taking exceptional care of your teeth.
The following dental procedures can help you attain more permanent teeth whitening results:
Dental Veneers
A dental veneer is made from tooth-colored porcelain. Porcelain creates an appearance that looks a lot like your natural teeth. Your dentist would take impressions of your teeth so that he or she can create natural-looking veneers for you. After creating the veneers, your dentist applies them with dental cement and cures them with a laser. Dental veneers may last between 10 and 15 years.
Composite Bonding
Composite bonding is when your dentist applies tooth-colored resin to your teeth. After your dentist applies the resin, he or she will use a laser to ensure that it bonds to the surface. This option also lasts between 10 and 15 years.
How Often Should You Get Your Teeth Professionally Whitened?
When asked how often to whiten teeth, dentists say that you should do this every year. However, you do not want to whiten your teeth more often than this because it can wear your enamel down.
Having your teeth professionally whitened is a better option than using an in-home treatment. That is because your dentist has the most effective tools for whitening your teeth. Your dentist’s procedure is also a faster way to obtain the results you want. In addition to that, professional whitening also lasts longer than in-home whitening treatments.
In-home whitening treatments are not necessarily as effective as a whitening treatment done by your dentist. The other reason that you may want to avoid in-home treatments is because in-home treatments may damage your gums and teeth.
Is It Worth Getting Your Teeth Whitened at the Dentist?
Is dentist teeth whitening worth it?
Yes, it is. At-home treatments may be less expensive, but they cannot offer you the best teeth whitening results. In addition to that, your dentist has the best teeth whitening methods.
We will examine professional vs at-home whitening and determine why it would be better to have an in-office treatment.
The most important reason professional teeth whitening is better than doing it yourself is because it is safer. If you use a whitening toothpaste, for example, it may damage the enamel. That is because these toothpastes have abrasive substances. As was mentioned above, at-home options may damage your gums and teeth.
An in-office treatment is also faster than in-home options. For example, you need several hours to complete an in-home treatment. After that, you must repeat the process for several days or even weeks. In contrast, you may only need one treatment from your dentist for the year.
You will have better teeth whitening effectiveness with an in-office treatment. Besides that, it is more comfortable to have this treatment done in your dentist’s office.
Are There Teeth Whitening Side Effects?
Your dentist knows how to perform yellow teeth whitening so that you do not experience any side effects. This is not the case when you do an in-home treatment. When you do this, you can experience teeth sensitivity. This often occurs because you fail to administer the solution correctly. There can also be sensitivity if your enamel is weak.
Your dentist can keep from applying the solution to your gums, the cause of gum irritation. After all, you are not necessarily an expert at applying the whitening solution to your teeth. When a dentist performs the teeth whitening procedure, patients usually do not experience any gum irritation.
In most cases, people do not experience teeth whitening side effects when they allow their dentists to whiten their teeth.
Can Extremely Yellow Teeth Be Whitened?
Yes, professional teeth whitening can whiten your extremely yellow teeth. The results may even be dramatic. If you do it yourself, you will not see results such as these. You may only be able to lighten your extremely yellow teeth by one or two shades. A professional whitening, on the other hand, may result in whitening that is as much as eight shades lighter.
Are There Any Risks of Teeth Whitening?
The only risks seem to be the gum irritation and teeth sensitivity that we mentioned above. If these issues occur, they do not tend to last very long. It happens when your teeth whitening frequency is very often. Aggressive bleaching can harm your teeth, crowns, sealants and dental restorations. However, this will not occur if you have professional teeth whitening done.
What Are Some Teeth Whitening Maintenance Tips?
You can maintain teeth whitening by observing the following tips:
Tip #1
Limit your consumption of the foods and beverages mentioned at the beginning of this article. These include fruit juices, hibiscus, dark soda and beer. Some more foods that you will want to limit include those with artificial colors, dark chocolate, red grapes and beets.
Tip #2
If you are going to eat any of the foods or drink any of the beverages you should avoid, brush and floss your teeth directly after. If you cannot brush your teeth, rinse your mouth out.
Tip #3
Refrain from smoking or chewing tobacco. Smoking is the reason that most smokers have extremely yellow teeth. However, the lifestyle impact on teeth whitening leads to better oral and overall health in the long run.
Tip #4
Get a touchup when you need it.
If you are interested in having professional teeth whitening, contact us at West Hollywood Holistic and Cosmetic Dental Care.
