When permanent teeth grow in children, they are white. Slowly as you grow older, depending on the oral health habits and lifestyle changes in adults, the teeth start getting stained.

Many people want their teeth whitened so that they can make their smile beautiful and captivating. A smile is a vital physical feature and one of the first things to make a lasting  impression about our personality. A bright and beautiful smile gives us confidence and an ego boost for performing at our best in any field.

Who Needs Teeth Whitening?

As we grow old, our teeth also grow old. They slowly lose their natural white colour. A thin coating builds on the teeth which hides the natural white colour of the teeth. Also, drinks like soda, alcohol, coffee, and tea stain our teeth. Smoking is one of the major causes of discoloured or stained teeth. There are also many medications that affect our teeth and its colour.

No matter what the reason for the staining, we all want our smile to be white and bright.

What Is Teeth Whitening?

Our teeth are made up of enamel, dentin and pulp. The outer layer is enamel which covers dentin and pulp. The white colour of the tooth depends on the thickness of enamel and also on the colour of dentin. Teeth whitening is a procedure whereby the stained teeth of a person is bleached with chemicals. It works by removing or bleaching the stains on the outer layer called enamel which is extrinsic whitening. Sometimes intrinsic whitening is done, where the whitening is done from the inner layer which is dentin.

What Are Different Methods Used For Teeth Whitening?

There are two ways in which you can whiten your teeth. One is by using products available over the counter, and the other is in-office whitening which will be done under the supervision of your dentist.

The more professional and safer way of whitening teeth is getting the procedure done at the dentist’s office under his or her supervision.

Can Teeth Whitening Damage The Teeth?

Research shows that at-home teeth whitening has a high chance of causing damage to the teeth and gums if done on your own with products bought over the counter.

Teeth whitening procedure if done under supervision is extremely safe and will not damage the teeth.

When you do the procedure at home, there is a likelihood of overdoing or overusing the whitening agent which harms the teeth enamel. If used on gums, it may also lead to serious problems.  For example, the active agent in teeth whitening strips and all other products is peroxide. When this chemical comes in contact with gums for a longer time, it releases free radicals which damages gums making them older faster than it would have if left alone.

The strips also needs to be left on the teeth for a stipulated time. If applied for a lesser period, it will not have desired results, and you may feel compelled to continue for more days than safely prescribed. If applied for longer period, the peroxide in the strip may reach deeper than what is desirable, and may harm the enamel which will have the opposite effect than what is hoped for.

Also, the products available over the counter may have less than required amount of chemicals on them, which will damage the teeth and teeth structure.

When the use of readily available products are overdone, it will soften the enamel, the outer cover on the teeth, which is responsible for safeguarding our teeth from hot or cold food, and from micro-organisms which attacks our teeth all the time. The softened or damaged enamel will make our teeth weak and unable to protect us from very hot or cold, or very hard food. Damaged enamel also bares the inner tooth structure making it vulnerable to outside attacks from bacteria.

When over the counter products are not used properly, the active ingredient touches the gums, which makes the gums susceptible to gum disease, and inflammation.

To remain safe from damages that can occur because of the readily available products, people choose to go for supervised dental treatment for teeth whitening. It is better to go for professional treatment provided it is not overdone. If you have to whiten your teeth often, do not do it more than  once a year.

It is vital that you get your teeth and gums checked before you go for the teeth whitening procedure. When you go for professional teeth whitening procedure done at the clinic, make sure that the dentist checks for the cavities, sensitivity and gum diseases before starting the teeth whitening procedure. The pain is unbearable if you have exposed roots when the chemicals touch them.

You must also get yourself checked for the LED and laser lights used during teeth whitening procedure. If you have any ailment that requires no exposure to these light, then inform your dentist. These lights are used by the dentist to quicken the process of peroxide sticking to your teeth.

As is well known, teeth whitening will have to be done over and over again, because it does not have everlasting effects. Most treatments last between six months to two years. Teeth continue to age, and people continue to have tea, coffee, and drinks that stain the teeth. Therefore the need to whiten the teeth is always there. Repeated use of teeth whitening products takes its toll on the teeth and gums.

Overall, the best way to whiten your teeth is go for supervised treatment as it will ensure more safety for your teeth and your overall well-being.

If you have to use over the counter products, it best to ask your dentist before starting the use of it. Avoid the gel touching your gums at all times. Gel touching the gums result in irritation of soft tissue.

The results you achieve after any treatment will depend on your oral health habits, your lifestyle and the regularity of your visits to the dentist.