Category: Teeth Whitening

Things You Must Do To Protect Against Tooth Staining

Why Do Teeth Get Discolored?

Who doesn’t want a healthy white smile? everyone, right. However, there are numerous reasons why your teeth get darkened. Some factors we can’t control disturb our tooth enamel’s growth. Therefore, it’s necessary to discuss your plans for whitening your teeth with your dentist.

Your dentist will be able to find if your tooth staining is caused by lifestyle factors like drinking too much coffee or it is a matter of oral health. 

Teeth whitening is performed due to cosmetic reasons, that is why your dentist always put some choices for you to treat the type of tooth staining you have, & what is the reason behind it.

Some of the very first reasons for tooth stains are due to an unbalanced lifestyle & habits that include the following:

  • Foods/drinks
  • Tobacco use
  • Poor dental hygiene: Disease
  • Medications
  • Dental materials
  • Aging
  • Genetics 
  • Environment
  • Trauma

How Can You Prevent Tooth Discoloration?

At-home teeth whitening:

  • Avoiding stain-causing foods & beverages.
  • Use a straw for drinking coffee or wine
  • Applying over-the-counter teeth whiteners 
  • Cleaning your teeth twice a day
  • Switch your toothbrush & toothpaste

Dental Whitening Techniques:

The teeth whitening procedure by an experienced dental specialist is required when you have a lot of tooth staining and can not be cured with home remedies or treatment. Some of the primary technique a dentist follow to make your smile bright are as follows: 

  • Professional Whitening is performed in-clinic by a dentist who uses professional whitening products and procedures to speed up the whitening process. He or she will apply a hydrogen peroxide solution. Some products require heat with a unique light to fasten the bleaching procedure. Other dental products will have a higher concentration of whitener used with desensitizer and some custom trays for better whitener bonding. The process is safe in the hands of a trained dentist.
  • Dental Bonding is a process in which your dentist applies a white polish to your tooth and sets it with a special light. The light ‘glues’ the resin to the tooth to enhance the color of your smile.
  • Dental Crowns are put to shield, cover, whiten, and repair damaged teeth, so you flaunt your smile. The Teeth crown can be custom-made as per your requirement, color & shape will suit your needs.
  • Dental Veneers are customized porcelain ‘shells’ created to conceal the front of the tooth to enhance the color and shape of your smile. They are delicate and about the size and consistency of a false nail. Some patients prefer dental veneers for which your dentist will suggest you not to chew hard foods with your incisor teeth to avoid breaking the veneers.

Who doesn’t want to look their best all the time, so taking care of your teeth is all about having healthy habits! With some simple lifestyle shifts, you may be capable of preventing tooth staining. If you’re a coffee-lover, consider cutting back or finding an alternative drink. Similarly, if you smoke, try quitting as smoking also impacts not just your oral health but overall health. Keep your dental hygiene game up by brushing and flossing twice a day and getting routine dental check-ups once every six months. 

If your teeth appear to be dull in color, despite your best oral hygiene measures, and if other signs are also present, then contact us to see a dentist near you in Richardson, Texas.

What Is The Benefit Of Teeth Whitening?

Teeth whitening can be an extremely efficient method of lightening the natural color of your teeth without removing any of the tooth surfaces. It cannot completely change the color, but it can lighten the existing tint.

What exactly is teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dental treatments, providing a rapid, non-invasive, and cost-effective option to improve one’s smile. Whitening procedures are universally valued by men and women equally, and there are options to suit every budget, time period, and temperament. Solutions abound, whether in the shape of professional one-hour whitening sessions at a dental facility or cosmetic salon, or home-use bleaching kits purchased at your local drugstore. Almost everyone who chooses a teeth whitening solution notices a moderate to the significant increase in the brightness and whiteness of their smile. However, it is not a permanent remedy to discoloration and requires maintenance or touch-ups to provide a long-lasting impact.

What causes the yellowing of teeth?

Teeth become dull and lose their dazzling, white glitter due to a variety of circumstances. Certain foods can discolor the enamel, the outermost layer of your teeth. Plaque buildup on your teeth can also cause them to seem yellow. This form of discoloration is typically treatable with regular cleaning and whitening solutions. However, teeth can appear yellow because the hard enamel has deteriorated, exposing the dentin beneath. Dentin is a yellow, bony substance that sits beneath the enamel. 

Why would you require tooth whitening?

There are several reasons why you would want to get your teeth whitened. Everyone is unique, and just as our hair and skin colors differ, so do our teeth. Very few people have pearly white teeth, and our teeth can become discolored as we age. Foods and drinks like tea, coffee, red wine, and blackcurrant can also stain the surface of your teeth. Smoking can also cause dental stains. The color of your teeth might also be affected by calculus or tartar. Some people may have staining beneath the surface of their teeth, which can be caused by certain antibiotics or tiny cracks in the teeth that absorb stains.

Who can conduct teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening is a type of dentistry that should only be performed on the prescription of a dentist or another licensed dental practitioner, such as a dental hygienist or dental therapist. Some beauty shops provide teeth whitening, but this is unlawful if a dental practitioner is not present, and it may jeopardize your oral health.

We hope you found this blog’s information on teeth whitening helpful. Brushing and flossing are simple techniques to keep your teeth clean, white, and bright. Still, you’re not alone if you think your smile has lost its luster or has turned yellow. If you want the greatest teeth whitening service in Richardson, TX, come to Gentle Touch. We guarantee that our dentists will whiten your teeth to the color you prefer.

 

How much does teeth whitening cost?

Everyone wants to have a smile that wins the heart of other people and helps them to create a successful first impression. Have you ever thought about what are the factors which make a smile beautiful? They are – symmetry, good oral health and the pearly white colour of your teeth. Now several lifestyle choices and habits of yours can lead to stains on teeth. This in turn both literally and metaphorically acts as spots on your teeth lessening down their beauty and also creates a dent on your self confidence. Now, one of the most viable ways of getting rid of such stains is teeth whitening. Being in the field of modern dentistry for a notable span of time, we have often come across questions related to the cost of teeth whitening. Keeping all such things in mind, Gentle Touch Dentistry has come up with this blog comprising all the information related to this topic. We believe that lack of knowledge leads to creation of confusion. Therefore, if you have any query about teeth whitening and its cost, go through this blog to find a suitable answer.

The very first thing that should be brought under your notice is – the cost of teeth whitening directly depends on the method you choose to get the job done. It can be done at home or at a professional dental clinic. The cost of getting your teeth whitened by a professional is more if compared to you doing it at home.

You can remove the stains from your teeth at home with the use of teeth whitening strips. But before choosing this way out, you are advisable to gain an idea about the effect of whitening strips on your teeth. These are over the counter strips which are available in most of the drugstores nearby. The cost of these whitening strips is around $20 to $40 perfoc and each box contains enough strips to treat your teeth for a week or more. You can draw a clear inference from the preceding sentences that using whitening strips is the cheapest way to attain a desired smile. It is not as effective if compared with professional teeth whitening. Another way of attaining milky white teeth includes buying over-the-counter trays that you fill with a whitening solution and place over your teeth. Selecting this method of whitening will cost you around $100.

We are providing you with some other domestic ways of teeth whitening in the pointers below:

    • Oil pulling
    • Using baking soda to brush your teeth
    • Intake of more vegetables and fruits
    • Adopting various preventative measures to avoid stains on your teeth
    • Using hydrogen peroxide.

Always remember that all the domestic methods of teeth whitening only yield results after a particular span of time. Therefore, do not give up hope due to lack of patience.

We are now gonna discuss professional teeth whitening and its cost. But before doing so, you should be aware of one fact which states that teeth whitening is a safe and secure process if performed in the presence of a trained professional. The minimum amount of money to be spent in order to get your teeth whitened at a nice dental clinic starts from $650 and can go upto $1000. The variation in the price charged generally happens due to the different kinds of products used and the amount taken by the dentist. To know about it in detail, you should contact a clinic which offers professional teeth whitening service and consult the dentist there. He/she will also let you know about the benefits of teeth whitening. All the information will help you shed all hesitations and enable you to take the correct decision. Just so you have an idea about the difference in effectiveness of the domestic methods and professional teeth whitening, the whitening strips that are available at the store contain 10% of hydrogen peroxide. Whereas the ones used by the bleaching agents can contain between 25 and 40 percent hydrogen peroxide. Now the choice is up to you. Just remember that not all cheap ways out yield great results.

We feel that when it comes to teeth whitening, you should also know about the cost of maintaining your teeth once the process is done. None of the methods mentioned above are permanent and demand constant care. Not having the food and drinks which have the potential to leave stains on your teeth definitely increases the time span and extends the results.

If you are looking for a dental clinic to undergo professional teeth whitening in or around Richardson, TX, contact Gentle Touch Dentistry today. We offer several other top-notch dental services as well to fulfill your requirements.

Teeth Whitening Strips: How they Affect your Teeth?

Whitening strips need no introduction, as every individual at some point of their lives have craved for whiter and brighter teeth. In doing so, they must have tried or at least contemplated try their hands on whitening strips. These are over-the-counter strips that are easily available in all drugstores nearby. This makes it evident that these products are a way to attain whitening at a low cost.

However, whitening strips come along with some drawbacks that mostly first-time users are not aware of. Instead of a same-day whitening (as is the case with professional treatments), whitening strips are required to be applied on the teeth for several days to get visible results. Additionally, the concentration of the bleaching agent (hydrogen peroxide) may be insufficient with respect to the degree of discoloration of an individual’s teeth.

Despite all the loopholes, the market for whitening strips persists because of their low cost and easy availability. Another significant cause behind the demand for whitening strips is dental fear. Especially if individuals have sensitivity issues, they are more hesitant to walk into the dentistry for a teeth whitening procedure.

Statistics revealed that a whopping 40.5 million people in the United States used tooth whitening products in the year 2018. It therefore stands necessary to elucidate the flaws of using a whitening strip. Long term use of over-the-counter strips are to some extent baneful for an individual’s teeth. Let’s check how they might be impacting upon your dental health.

The outer layer of the teeth is the enamel. The layer lying beneath this is the dentin. The dentin layer is typically rich in protein. In studies related to the effect of whitening strips on the users teeth, it has been revealed that there was considerable loss of protein from the tooth’s dentin layer.

A research conducted in the Stockton University was aimed to find out how hydrogen peroxide affects the teeth, and which part of the tooth it attacks.

The research — which was led by Kelly Keenan, an associate professor of chemistry at Stockton University

The main whitening ingredient of whitening strips, as is commonly known is hydrogen peroxide. This is actually an oxidizing agent and mostly used as a sterilizer. However, for the common mass, hydrogen peroxide is considered as a color-lightening agent and is used by many to bleach their hair.

Kelly Keenan has discovered that hydrogen peroxide damages dentin, which is the “middle” layer of teeth. The three prominent layers of a tooth are – a shiny enamel, a dentin layer in the middle, and the inner layer that mainly consists of connective tissues. Now, there is a method in which this compound damages the dentin layer. It pierces through the enamel and reaches the dentin layer, again infiltrating through it. This dentin layer contains 90 to 95 percent of the protein collagen

Keenan’s study revealed that the dentin gets chipped away into small fragments by bleaching agent hydrogen peroxide. To study the impact on the protein collagen more closely, the research team had treated pure collagen with hydrogen peroxide. The observations clearly revealed that exposure to hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the protein collagen and leads to its fragmentation.

In a brief, its hard to avoid hydrogen peroxide, when whitening is in your mind. If you can’t get out of your want, you can’t get rid of hydrogen peroxide. This is so because all whiteners pretty much contain this ingredient. In fact, it is a proven outcome that people who are too crazy for making their teeth appear whiter and frequently use these strips for the purpose, also face sensitivity issues in their later lives. This is probably due to the damage of the dentin layer that constitutes the maximum mass of your tooth.

Top 5 reasons why you should go for Teeth Whitening

What’s the use of wearing an expensive attire unless you have an attractive smile? Teeth whitening these days are just the perfect procedure for giving your teeth a shiny appearance but without putting much strain on your finances.

The procedure of teeth whitening carried out by the expert professionals have not only earned stupendous success but have also instilled confidence in people who have pale coloured teeth and fears laughing at public places.

In this blog, we are going to discuss five important advantages of teeth whitening

Quick and Easy

Teeth whitening is an extremely easy procedure. If done by a professional, you will be able to see noticeable results even in two weeks. The average time that you are required to spend with a dentist may last from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the discolouration of your teeth. And the best thing is, you will get teeth ten times fairer than what you used to have.

Extremely Comfortable

Many patients made use of over the counter whitening ointments and reported pain and tooth sensitivity. But on the contrary, if you book an appointment with an expert dentist having years of experience in teeth whitening, you will never face these kinds of problems.

Experts always suggest a fluoride treatment after completing the tooth whitening procedure. It cuts down the sensitivity of the teeth and also to prevent the hydrogen ions from penetrating the surface of the teeth.

Never Affects The Teeth

Since there is no reduction of the teeth, there is no harm caused. The best thing about this kind of treatment is that only the surface of the teeth is bleached, while the rest of the portion is left as it is. In this way, you will get shiny white teeth without causing any harm to your teeth. Additionally, you will be asked to apply a thick medicated gel for maintaining the proper lubrication of the teeth

You Can Pick Your Shade

If you chose to purchase any kind of ointment from the store, you will have no liberty to decide how much white you want your teeth to be. On the other hand, if you choose to visit an expert dentist, you will be able to decide the strength of the treatment. You can easily discuss with the doctor about the level of whitening you wish to have.

Long-lasting Results

Unlike the whitening ointments brought from the store, a professional whitening treatment result last for a long time. The take-home maintenance kit provided includes custom-fit trays and whitening gel so that you can take care of your teeth even at home. Expert dentists also use whitening pens to make your teeth look white, as well as, shiny.

From the above discussion, It can be easily concluded that the process of teeth whitening is an extremely easy and affordable procedure. We, at GentleTouch Dentistry, are dedicated to looking after all your oral needs. So, if you are a resident of Richardson, Texas, then never forget to visit us. Just dial (469) 336-3069 and book an appointment.

Teeth Whitening Makes Your Smile Brighter, Here are its Benefits

Teeth whitening not only alters the state of your teeth but also lets you sport a beautiful smile. Several people long for a set of sparkling white teeth and to achieve that goal, you must follow a proper oral hygiene. The plaque formation near the gum line may not go even after brushing and flossing properly, however, a whitening treatment can help you get rid of discolored teeth.

Today, we will be talking about the advantages of a teeth whitening treatment. The benefits are given below.

Teeth Whitening is Not an Expensive Treatment: Sometimes an expensive dental treatment restrains us from opting for it. But, teeth whitening is not pocket pinching, rather it is quite affordable.

Gives Your Confidence a Boost: Great confidence makes you a positive person. And with a whiter set of teeth, your overall personality could get enhanced. You will feel more confident about yourself too.

Results are Obtained Fast: A lot of dental treatments take time to give results, but it is not the same with teeth whitening. You will be able to see the difference in your teeth right after the completion of the procedure.

There Won’t Be Any Tooth Reduction: Your tooth will be preserved during teeth whitening and there won’t be any reduction. Therefore, you do not have to worry about the tooth structure getting affected.

The Effect will Sustain: The result that you will get after a whitening treatment certainly could last for long. But you also have to take good care of your teeth in order to make the effect sustain. Avoiding acidic foods and beverages can help in making your teeth stain free.

Your Tooth Enamel Remains Safe: It’s a very safe dental treatment. The enamel of your tooth does not get affected and neither does it increases sensitivity to something cold or hot.

Get in touch with us today at (469) 336-3069 if you want to get an effective teeth whitening treatment done. We are located in Richardson TX 1750 Alma Rd, Suite 110 Richardson, TX 75081.