4 Questions To Help You Determine If Teeth Whitening Is Right For You

Dentist Blog

Getting your teeth professionally whitened is one of the best and most effective methods for obtaining a whiter smile; however, there are certain conditions that prevent people from being good candidates for this procedure. Here are four questions to ask yourself to help determine if teeth whitening is right for you at this point in your life.

Are Your Stains Intrinsic or Extrinsic?

The first thing to think about is the types of stains you have on your teeth. Stains cause teeth to lose their whiteness, and the types of stains you have can help you determine if professional teeth whitening would help you gain a whiter smile.

Dentists often separate tooth stains into two main categories. The first category is called extrinsic stains, and these refer to the types of stains people get on the outer parts of their teeth. These stains occur from normal use of the teeth and can happen from drinking coffee or red wine or from smoking.

The other category of stains is called intrinsic, and this refers to stains on the insides of teeth. These stains occur for many reasons, but they are much harder to remove, because they are located inside your teeth.

Professional teeth whitening is ideal for a person with extrinsic stains, but it may not help as much for people who suffer from intrinsic tooth stains.

Do You Have Overly Sensitive Teeth?

A second question to ask yourself is how sensitive your teeth are. Do you cringe when you take a bite of cold ice-cream? Does taking a sip of hot coffee sting your teeth really bad? If you can relate to this type of pain, it means you have sensitive teeth. While people with sensitive teeth can go through professional teeth whitening services, it is often very painful for them.

If you have sensitive teeth, talk to your dentist about this. Your dentist might be able to determine why you have sensitive teeth and how to treat the problem. If you treat the problem and can reduce the sensitivity in your teeth, it will be less painful to go through professional teeth whitening services.

Are Your Front Teeth Completely Real?

When you get your teeth whitened, the products dentist use work great on real teeth but they do not always whiten teeth that are artificial. For example, if you have veneers on your front two teeth, these may not whiten like your other teeth. Because of this, professional teeth whitening may leave you with an uneven look in your mouth, in terms of whiteness and color of your teeth.

Is Your Mouth Healthy?

Finally, you should consider how healthy your mouth is. If you currently have cavities or gum disease and have not received proper treatment for these things, you will need to get those fixed before you go through professional teeth whitening services.

Teeth whitening is designed for people with healthy mouths. If you need any work done in your mouth, most dentists will want to fix that first. Problems like cavities and gum disease are much more important than having white teeth, so you should always make sure you have a healthy mouth before you contact a dentist to schedule services to have him or her professionally whiten your teeth.

Professional teeth whitening is a great option for most people, but it is not always the best option for everyone. If you currently are not a good candidate for teeth whitening, you may need to get some dental work completed first, and this could help you become a good candidate. To learn more about this, contact a dental clinic today by visiting a site like http://www.lindendentalnaples.com

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2 October 2017

Getting Your Toddler to the Dentist Once and For All

Toddlers should see a dentist for the first time by the age of twelve months or by the time their first tooth comes in. But if you are a parent with toddlers anything like mine, the prospect of going to the dentist (let alone anywhere!) can be pretty intimidating. My kids were a handful growing up. They had tantrums any time we would have to sit in a waiting room, and they refused to get in the dentist's chair during their first few visits. So, I had to employ a professional to help me make the transition to finally getting them in that dental chair without all the screaming and crying. I know I'm not the only parent in this situation, so I decided to share the information I've learned with others who can use a little help. You can find all my advice right here on these pages!