The White Stuff: 10 Ways to Whiten Your Teeth
Posted: Monday 24 May 2010 01:48pm
If you beat yourself up that your teeth aren’t dazzling, Hollywood movie star white, remember:
- Celebrities’ teeth aren’t really either. You only have to look at photos of actors like Catherine Zeta Jones and Tom Cruise in the early days of their careers to see that their photogenic smiles are largely the result of extensive, expensive corrective and cosmetic dentistry. Their livelihoods depend on optimum appearances as well as talent.
- There is no “correct” colour for teeth, which contain a mix of yellow, red and grey shades and vary enormously among individuals. Unless you have veneers or crowns, your teeth can only be whitened to the extent your natural physiognomy will allow. One man’s white may be another’s yellow, and vice versa.
- While veneers and crowns may be excellent options for restoring damaged smiles, overdoing the whiteness and straightness factor can also make people look unnatural – dare we say, peculiar – especially when they’re older. “The portrayal of tooth shade in the media is not realistic since [they] are often manipulated by digitally [retouching] images, to remove yellowness from teeth,” according to the Australian Dental Association. “In addition, some models, actors and television personalities have had porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns placed on their teeth, and the shades of these may be lighter than the range of `normal’ shades. Trying to achieve these more extreme shades of white by bleaching may be impossible or may involve using products well in excess of the manufacturer’s recommendations.”
- Teeth naturally darken and/or yellow as we get older. On top of this, surface stains form in the course of everyday living. Common surface stains are dental plaque and calculus, tars in tobacco, tannins in tea or coffee, coloured foods such as soy sauce and cola soft drinks.
- Internal stains and discolourations may exist as a result of childhood illness, antibiotics such as tetracyclines taken in childhood, tooth decay,or damage due to an injury.
- Anyone with dental problems prior to the latter 20th century were lucky to have teeth at all, let alone white ones.
Once you’ve established with your dentist the cause of your teeth’s discolouration, there are multiple options for making them whiter across the time and cost spectrum:
Stain-less
The most obvious remedy is to cut back (or out!) consumption of staining agents. Brush your teeth immediately after consuming them. Listerine has also just released Whitening Plus Enamel Protection mouthwash, so you can kill two birds with one gargle.
Brush up
Use a whitening toothpaste, and brush well at least twice a day for two minutes. According to the Australia Dental Association, typical whitening toothpastes contain hydrogen peroxide, a catalyst (such as manganese gluconate) to help break down the peroxide, together with silica and pyrophosphates, and can physically remove external stains by a gentle abrasive or polishing action, and reduce internal stains. They cannot change the natural tooth colour. Many also contain phosphate compounds to reduce the formation of tartar, keeping the tooth surface clean.
The association lists on its website products they have given their Seal of Approval.
Pucker up
While this option may not appeal to our male audience, you can create the illusion of whiter teeth simply by the lipstick you wear.
Cosmetic giant Clinique worked with dental experts to identify 12 shades in their existing lipstick inventory – from “pearls and buttery shines in nudes, goldens, pinks and berries” – that created a contrast making smiles look instantly one shade brighter. Check out your nearest Clinique counter!
Home Truths #1
Kitchen cupboard remedies abound but should be used with caution. Talk to your dentist before trialling any home spun formulas you find on the net that involve susbstances like hydrogen peroxide, Bicarbobnate of soda, wood ash, crushed strawberries or lemon juice.
Home Truths #2
Bleaching Kits
These are of course cheaper than dental surgery procedures, although they will not have the same wow factor. The whitening is subtle, but a real difference can usually be noticed between, for instance, upper teeth that have been bleached and lowers that have not. Home bleaching seems to be slightly more effective for younger rather than older people. Many do not contain enough of whitening agent to be effective and some kits sold over the internet may contain mild acids and abrasives, so it’s important to choose products recommended by the Australian Dental Association.
A gel with small percentages of a peroxide is applied to the teeth for several hours or overnight in a tray. The disadvantage of home kits is that the trays are stock sized, and so not for your individual mouth as they would be in a dentist’s surgery. As a result, it’s not possible to regulate the amount of gel used for optimum results and there is greater risk of contact with the gums, which can cause chemical irritation. Home trays can also be bulky and uncomfortable.
Paint-on Whitening
A similar, but simpler procedure using formulas similar to bleaching kits but with agents that bind the gel to the enamel, they can be painted on a single discoloured tooth or over your whole smile. Paint-on treatments should applied once a day (or according to manufacturer’s instruction) on freshly cleaned teeth and left for around 30 minutes before you rinse, eat or drink (otherwise the effectiveness is reduced). Treatment is usually for around two weeks. They are a relatively inexpensive way to brighten your teeth and are most useful where discolouration is mild and age-related.
“While paint-on teeth treatments should be regarded as an introduction to whitening techniques, they may also be useful to help maintain the results of professional whitening treatments since they can break down surface stains,” says the Australian Dental Association, who cite some product examples as Colgate Simply White ™ and Colgate Simply White Advanced ™ whitening gel; Macleans Brilliant White ™ whitening treatment gel.
Adhesive whitening strips
“Thin flexible strips made from polyethylene or a similar plastic material are used to deliver a hydrogen peroxide bleaching gel to the front teeth,” says the Australian Dental Association. “Once in position, the strips are pressed into place to gain the greatest contact with the tooth surface. This provides for extended contact of peroxide (released from the under surface of the strip) with the outer surface of the tooth. There are different shapes of strips to fit the upper and lower front teeth. “
“Boutique” Whitening
Treatments offered at clinics and beauty salons that are not supervised by dentists are a cheaper way of gaining a more professional result, but also without the same degree of assurance or expertise. There is also the risk of people becoming obsessed with getting the whitest smile possible – too white for their own genetic make-up – which will eventually damage the teeth, losing their natural translucency and becoming opaque.
Dental take-home bleaching
Using higher levels of peroxide than found in over the counter bleaching kits, your dentist will custom-make a tray to ensure that there is close contact between the gel and the surface of your teeth. That way, there is far less likelihood of discomfort or of gum irritation because all excess gel can be seen and wiped away.
Because of the higher concentrations of peroxides, some people may experience tooth sensitivity, which can be reduced by asking your dentist for a sensitising product or by using your trays less often. The problem will subside a few days after finishing treatment.
The procedure is recommended to be repeated every 12 months.
“We give the patient two to three tubes of bleaching gel and we teach them how to use it,” says Dr Michael Finkelstein of Sydney’s Finkelstein Dental. “We instruct the patient to use it for between 30-45 minutes a day.
“The ballpark cost for us is around the $450 mark. We also sell the whitening gels over the counter – once the trays are made – for around $25 a tube.”
“Power” Bleaching
This is a surgery procedure that achieves instant results but is more expensive than the custom tray system. Your face and gums are masked off to protect them, then bleaching agents are applied in a strong concentration. Heat and bright light or lasers are often used to accelerate the process. You may find a rapid change in the colour of your teeth but you also that your teeth and gums are very sensitive afterwards. The teeth can also become somewhat porous, more easily picking up stains from food and drink. These procedures do not change the colour of fillings (or crowns or veneers) so you may have to resurface or replace fillings after whitening.
“We use the Zoom tooth whitening system, which can either be done in the surgery or at home,” says Dr Andrew Gerber, of Gerber Dental Group on Queensland’s Gold Coast. “The in-surgery system takes about two hours and it gives instant results. It also includes a take home top up kit so you can re-whiten any time.
“Lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking coffee/tea and red wine can all affect how long the whitening lasts.
“Before you have your teeth whitened, it is important to have your teeth assessed because whitening isn’t suitable for everybody and you could end up disappointed with the results.
“The fees for tooth whitening vary between $550 and $950 but the initial Zoom consultation is free.”
Dr Cary Fraser, of Sydney’s Bay Dental + Orthodontics, recommends to his patients that, for best results, they take the “in the chair” route backed by home maintenance rather than the home-only treatment. He uses the relatively new Saphire Whitening System, for which he charges $850 for “in chair” and $250 for “take away” only. The latter is used 3 minutes per day for 1-2 weeks, depending how white you want your teeth, says Dr Fraser.
“The in the chair system we use predominately is Zoom,” adds Dr Michael Finkelstein. “It’s a one hour treatment for around $1000 and we’ve had fabulous results over the years. We offer take-home kits (trays and gel) for maintenance. “
Some examples of power bleaching:
- SDI Pola-Office™ (with halogen resin curing light)
- Opalescence Xtra Boost™ (with halogen resin curing light)
- Zoom™ (with mercury vapour halide light)
- LaserSmile™ (with diode laser)
- OpusWhite™ (with diode laser)
- Rembrandt™ (with blue/green plasma arc lamp)
- BriteSmile™ (with blue/green plasma arc lamp)
- Smartbleach™ (with blue/green argon ion laser or KTP laser)
Dr Fadi Yassmin of Sydney’s Broadway Dental is currently trialling a “totally new technology” for tooth whitening that has not yet been released on the market. Stay tuned!
Crowning Glories
Where teeth are indelibly stained, whitening hasn’t achieved desired results or a smile makeover is generally in order, veneers may be the best option.
Newer veneer systems such as GlamSmile and Lumineers claim to rejuvenate the teeth without the need to destroy much, if any of the tooth’s natural surface.
“Lumineers are like false fingernail porcelain you can stick onto the tooth,” says Dr Cary Fraser.
“You do not have to grind tooth away like a traditional veneer. Sometimes you have to do minimal re-contouring but there is definitely not as much tooth loss as a traditional veneer. A Lumineer is around $1500 per tooth. A traditional veneer can be approximately the same.
“The advantages of Lumineer are you don’t remove healthy tooth – it can actually support the lip a little bit more so you can get a fuller lip – they fill out the smile more and give you a broader looking smile.
“Studies show they can last to 20 years (depending on how you look after them) but really you’re looking at around 10 years.”
Traditional veneers, partial crowns or full crowns are the ideal option to improve the appearance of your smile, according to Gold Coast dentist Dr Andrew Gerber.
“Veneers can be used for teeth that are in good condition and need minimal change. Partial or full crowns are ideal for teeth that have been root treated or are heavily filled because it also protects them. They are also ideal for making more significant changes to the shape or position of the teeth.
“Veneers and crowns can be used together and it is also possible to incorporate bridges or implants to replace missing teeth. As a general rule we recommend that veneers and crowns are made from ceramic or porcelain material because it is strong, durable and doesn’t stain. Composite material is an alternative, however it can chip and stain and usually needs to be replaced every few yeas.
“Good quality, locally made and guaranteed ceramic crowns and veneers cost approximately $1800 and $2000 each and they should last in 15-20 years if they are properly cared for.”
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