Everywhere we look now we see people with bright, luminescent smiles and teeth. Rarely do we see anyone with yellow, discolored teeth on TV anymore. Some of the actors have smiles so white and bright that it looks fake and you know they had their teeth whitened.
The popular sitcom Friends even did a spoof on teeth whitening where one of the characters teeth were so white after treatment that they glowed in the dark like they were irradiated. So, what actually is tooth or dental whitening, how much does it cost, why is it so popular, and what kind of results can one expect?
Basically, tooth or dental whitening is a controlled oxygen bleaching of the tooth enamel. As any good dentist will tell you it works better on some than others and not everyone is a good candidate (kind of like with laser eye surgery). It will not work on any fake teeth like porcelain veneers, ceramic implants, etc. It only works on real teeth. The main ingredient is either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide which are both oxidizers and will bleach tooth enamel.
Over the counter kits and products generally have a low percentage of the main oxidizing ingredient (usually in the range of 2 to 6%). This is minimally effective at best. Dentists, plastic and oral surgeons will use a 30 to 35% solution and will add to this a high power blue or white plasma or laser light to hyper increase the oxidizing activity of the treatment.
The difference is that the over the counter kits and products may, after many treatments, whiten your teeth 1 to 2 shades whereas the in office treatments like Zoom (one of the most popular name brands for professional teeth whitening today) will in a hour or so whiten the teeth 8 to 14 shades. This is an enormous difference, but also there is a big price that comes with this in office whitening (usually $400 to $500 and most insurance companies do not cover this treatment).
Also, another thing to watch out for is many dentists are using the whitening to lure customers into unnecessary and expensive treatments above and beyond the whitening. Many people are finding that when they make the appointment for the whitening that the dentist tells them they need their remaining wisdom teeth removed, cavities treated even when there are none, and numerous other non routine requirements like deep cleaning requiring anesthesia for someone whom has no cavities or gum disease.
Numerous people have found that each dentist they see in some areas like Chicago, IL and Charlotte, NC gives them a different story and different requirements.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1 of my frnd whoz 2o yrs old..and she needs braces ...
By: palak | 20-08-2008
1 of my frnd whoz 2o yrs old..and she needs braces ,coz her uper gums and teeths r big bt she dnt wana to put braces on her teeths..she wants dental surgry for this..is dere any trtmnt works, wihout putting this braces thing..and if yes dn which surgry ,she hve to do for ds??????and how much it costs?????
Pulled baby teeth at early age
By: Kelly | 18-08-2008
how long after premature baby teeth are pulled will they come in? they were pulled at age 3, the two top teeth in the front. he is now 8
Wisdom teeth
By: sadness1125 | 17-08-2008
i got my wisdom teeth pulled three days ago and yesterday i had a little pain but now its worse and its in my jaw i got two of them pulled last year and i didnt feel this much pain like i do now
My son has 15months and does not have any teeth ...
By: luis | 14-08-2008
my son has 15months and does not have any teeth? is that really bad
After effects of wisdom tooth extraction
By: Teeth | 12-08-2008
lMy wisdom tooth was extratced last Tuesday (extraction was long and tedious and I felt much pressure until all the pieces were removed). Since then I have had to viisit the dentist twice due to swelling and pain although I have been on antibioctics and antiflamitory/pain killers. They inserted filling twice and though the filling is still in the cavitiy I am having pains is this normal?
Childs first adult tooth growing in the wrong direction
By: Oliver | 11-08-2008
My 5 1/2 year old son has just lost his first baby tooth and his adult replacement tooth below can be seen coming through. There seems though to be a problem in the direction that this tooth is growing, it is almost growing back towards his tongue. When he was 4 he had a very bad accident where he fell onto a metal bar below his chin and put his front teeth through his lip. Could this be the reason and what can we do about it?
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