Choosing a Teeth Whitening Treatment That is Right For You

By JD Foster

Although teeth whitening treatment is a cosmetic procedure, it can be seen as a necessary one as it can affect your personal life and even career. This is especially so if your profession is in the service sector where personal appearance is important to create a good impression.

Laser teeth whitening is costly but many feel it is worth it since it produces almost immediate results in a short time with little discomfort. Others on a budget may try over the counter home DIY systems. These can work but the process is much more tedious as it usually involves several days of applying whitening gel, sometimes overnight for the whitening process to work.

For light stains and discoloration, home DIY kits offer a viable solution that can be effective and less costly in the long run. Various tooth whitening gel products are available in the form of dental trays or strips. There are also very handy pens that allow for no-mess application of whitening gel on the go.

More intensive home treatments that are commercially available is the Opalescence tooth whitening system. This hydrogen peroxide based bleaching agent is pre-packed as two individual components that are mixed at the time of use and is left overnight for the whitening process to work.

For teeth with deeper discoloration however, end results of home DIY kits may not be able to match up to the shade of white achieved by professional treatment at a dental clinic.

In such cases, laser teeth whitening may be the only solution. The treatment involves activating the bleaching agent with light to penetrate teeth to stimulate color change and remove discoloration. Several sessions may be required to achieve the desired end result.

After undergoing laser whitening, use a toothpaste with a bleaching agent to maintain teeth whiteness. Over time however, stains are inevitable as various food and drink will leave stains eventually. Some types of drinks such as coffee and tea have a much stronger staining effect. Smoking too, stains teeth easily. Moderating intake of such food and drink helps reduce and delay teeth discoloration.

The most aesthetically pleasing whitening treatment is the use of teeth veneers. This is a very costly procedure that involves bonding very thin porcelain veneers onto the front of teeth and is usually carried out for chipped or misaligned teeth. It is also used for teeth that have stains that cannot be removed.

Veneers have a few disadvantages. Once it breaks, there is no way to repair it. Also, having veneers bonded onto teeth requires that a minimal but noticeable amount of teeth enamel to be trimmed to fit the veneer. Teeth that have had veneers fitted must always have a veneer on in order to have a natural shape. Therefore, the cost could be very high in the long run.

Given all the pros and cons of each procedure, it is best to be fully informed as to what each entails so that you know what to expect during and after each teeth whitening treatment.

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