When you have stained teeth, you may be tempted to try over-the-counter teeth whitening options. But for a more dramatic and long-lasting brightness, you should undergo professional care. In today’s blog, your Des Moines, IA, dentist talks about the benefits of professional teeth whitening.
The Causes of Your Unsightly Discoloration
Why do we end up with stained teeth over time? The causes could be due to a number of different factors. For example, consuming sugary foods and drinks encourages plaque buildup, which makes stains more apparent. Drinks with dark pigments are a factor too, such as red wine, coffee, tea, and soda. Smoking and tobacco use stain the teeth as well. You can take steps to limit discoloration, but we can remove them completely with a professional teeth whitening procedure.
Treatment with Trays and Gel
The treatment process involves coming to the office so we can take detailed digital impressions of your teeth and use them to create a custom set of plastic trays. We then send you home with these trays and a powerful bleaching gel. At home, you will fill the trays with the gel and then wear them for about 30 to 45 minutes a d y, or sometimes overnight, depending on how severe your discoloration actually is. The trays ensure your results are even, and prevents the gel from being diluted by saliva. After one to two weeks, you could have teeth brightened by several shades. The trays are then yours to use with the remaining gel for touch-ups down the road, so you can continue to enjoy a brighter smile for months to come. The results last longer than if you used store bought strips or toothpastes.
Masking Permanent Discoloration
The option above is mainly used to treat extrinsic discoloration, the ones that appear on the surfaces of your teeth. But permanent teeth stains, or intrinsic discoloration, forms beneath the enamel, and could be caused by factors like injury, fluorosis, or exposure to certain medications at a young age. We can still help though! In these cases, our team will use dental bonding to mask them in one visit, or we could place porcelain veneers to mask them too. A cosmetic consultation will let us know which treatment option you need, and how to best improve the beauty of your smile.
If you have any questions about our approach to teeth whitening and cosmetic dentistry, then contact our team today to schedule your cosmetic consultation.
YOUR DES MOINES, IA DENTIST OFFERS COSMETIC DENTISTRY
We would like to help obtain a noticeably brighter smile. If you have any questions about removing stains or masking them with cosmetic dentistry, then contact your Des Moines, IA, dentist, Dr. Burds, by calling 515-244-9565.