How white can I get my teeth

How white can I get my teeth?

It is something of a myth that natural teeth are absolutely dead white. The teeth of a young person soon after they have appeared in the mouth can be close to perfect white, and they also have a degree of translucency which adds to their visual appeal, but they still have a degree of colouration in them. 

The pigmentation of teeth varies from person to person much like that of the eyes or hair, but as a general rule our teeth are fairly white when we are young but tend to get progressively darker with age. This is due in part to more tooth substance being gradually laid down inside the teeth which gradually diminishes the size of the cavity in the middle of the teeth where the nerves and blood vessels are, (the pulp), and gradually increases the density of tooth substance making the teeth look darker. 

The second reason teeth darken with age is due to absorption of stains over time due to smoking, or from food and drinks like tea and coffee.

Dentists use a shade guide to determine the right colours to make artificial crowns to match in with natural teeth, and such a shade guide is very useful when you set out to whiten your teeth as you can see the amount of improvement. Teeth generally have slight shades of yellow, pink, grey, or brown in them, and the actual hue doesn�t change as we get older, but rather the shade of the hue darkens. The whitest teeth are probably a shade B1 on the usual shade guide, and this is very white with just a faint hint of yellow. Another common shade found in natural teeth is a light greyish one and this would be C2 or C3 on a shade guide.

When you whiten your teeth they often go much whiter to begin with, maybe up to 5 shades, but then gradual settle down and end up about 2-3 shades whiter. So an older person with grey teeth due to smoking may start at C4 and expect to end up as C1-C2. This may not sound that dramatic, but indeed it is an extremely noticeable difference, and anyone with teeth the shade of C1 would be very happy. 

Similarly someone starting out at B4 with quite yellow teeth may expect to reach B1-B2 after a period of teeth whitening treatment. The �rebound� effect is inevitable and is probably partly due to some dehydration that occurs during the teeth bleaching process. 

This is reckoned not to be harmful but it does mean that you might want to take that into account. Severe dehydration is most likely to occur with �power� or �laser� whitening carried out in the dental chair, since a much more concentrated bleaching agent is used together with a powerful light. 

This dehydration accounts for the postoperative hypersensitivity of teeth often experienced for a while after power whitening. This effect is much less noticeable with home whitening treatments that are gentler in their action, especially with non-peroxide systems like Zero Peroxide.

The aim then, of whitening your teeth, is to make them lighter in colour, brighter, and more attractive looking. They should still look natural though, and not dead white like granny�s false teeth, otherwise they will look artificial too. If you choose a reliable whitening treatment that aims for up to 5 shades whiter and includes a shade guide with the kit or treatment, then you should be very satisfied with the final result

Non peroxide Vs peroxide

Non-Peroxide Vs Peroxide Teeth Whitening Kits

With so many different types of home whitening kits available on the market today, knowing which one to choose can be quite a challenging task. Till some time back, there were only peroxide teeth whitening kits available to people who wanted to lighten the colour of their teeth. However, now users also have the option of using non-peroxide teeth whitening kits to make their smile even brighter. Looking at a comparison between peroxide and non-peroxide teeth whitening kits means that you can make an informed choice about which one to use.

The active ingredient in all peroxide teeth whitening kits is a substance known as peroxide. It can be present in the teeth whitening kits in the form of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. The type of ingredient that is used, and the strength that it is used in, varies from product to product. However, in non-peroxide teeth whitening products, no peroxide is used to bleach the teeth. The active ingredient used here is sodium bicarbonate.

Although peroxide has been used in teeth whitening kits for many years, recent medical reports have suggested that this chemical can be very harmful to human health. It is a known fact that peroxide teeth whitening kits can lead to burns on your gums or the soft tissue in your mouth. The chemical could also wear off the protective enamel layer on your teeth if it is too strong. However, the biggest concern with peroxide teeth whitening kits is that peroxide may also lead to mouth cancers.

Thankfully, since no peroxide is found in non-peroxide teeth whitening kits, all of the above risks do not apply to such products. Thus, when you use a non-peroxide product for making your teeth whiter, you do not have to worry about any kind of teeth damage or serious illnesses such as cancer. In addition to being extremely safe, sodium bicarbonate is also known to be much more effective than peroxide as far as teeth whitening goes. The whitening solution has to be applied for a shorter period and the results obtained are much better than anything you can get with peroxide teeth whitening products.

While there are many peroxide teeth whitening kits still available in the markets today, it is said that soon these will be banned in the UK, as well as all throughout Europe. This is mainly due to the dangerous side effects that are associated with the product. However, this will not apply to non-peroxide teeth whitening products as they are extremely safe to use.

how keep teeth white

How can I keep my teeth white?

White teeth are vital for an attractive smile, and nothing is more of an asset in our lives these days than having an attractive smile. We are born with nice white teeth, but we only get the one permanent set that has to last a lifetime. Inevitably our teeth will tend to darken somewhat with age, as they become less translucent, and that is a natural process we can do little about. 

There are though, things that can be done to keep our teeth as white as possible, and these revolve around two main principles: keeping our teeth clean; and avoiding food, drink, and habits that will cause discolouration.

Keeping our teeth clean is essential because the layer of sticky plaque that accumulates on our teeth daily attracts and holds stains right next to the tooth surfaces. The longer the plaque is there the greater the chance that stains will gradually permeate the enamel of the tooth surface and become fixed and permanent. The tooth enamel, although hard, is not impermeable. It is made up of a crystalline structure that will allow penetration and absorption of small molecules.

The layer of plaque on our teeth harbours not only stains, but bacteria too, and some of these can cause decay, which in the front teeth leads to disfiguring areas of white or brown enamel. If the decay process advances sufficiently to breach the enamel, then an unsightly dark patch results that only your dentist can fix. It is essential not to let decay get a hold in the first place by avoiding too much in the way of sweet foods and drinks.

The best way to clean your teeth is in a systematic and thorough method, using both a toothbrush and dental floss. If you are using an ordinary toothbrush you should first try to dislodge plaque at the gum edge with short, vibratory strokes, followed by longer strokes vertically towards the biting edge of the teeth. 

It is best to keep horizontal brush-strokes to the absolute minimum because, over time they cause a surprising amount of tooth abrasion leading to hypersensitivity. If you are using a power brush you simply need to hold it against the teeth for long enough to enable it to brush away plaque, say 10 seconds at each location. Whichever type of brush you�re using you should start at one corner of the mouth and gradually work your way round, giving attention to each surface of each tooth in turn. 

It is essential to look in a mirror whilst brushing to ensure you are covering all the teeth. Having brushed, it is time to floss using a small length held taut between the fingers and sliding it upwards from the gum edge to the biting surfaces of the teeth You are trying here, to scrape the plaque off the tooth surfaces and away, so you do not want to make see-sawing movements, but rather a clean, sweeping movement vertically upwards from the gum edge. 

This daily routine needs to be done at least once in a day, preferably twice, and may take more time than you realise when you start out to first clean this thoroughly. It becomes easier and quicker with practice though, and is certainly worth it!

The second part of keeping your teeth white is avoiding habits such as smoking because smoke darkens the teeth gradually, (as well as your skin). Foods that are themselves brightly coloured like turmeric can stain teeth quite markedly, so you need to be careful of curries and the like. 

Drinks such as tea, coffee, and red wine are also notorious for staining teeth, and are the main culprits for most of us. If you drink your coffee black, then you are especially susceptible to darkened teeth. The good news is that these stains do not become permanent straightaway so, if you are cleaning your teeth really well each day you can remove the stained film before too much of the discolouring compounds have actually penetrated the tooth enamel.

Cleaning your teeth regularly, carefully, and efficiently is the key to keeping your teeth naturally white. If you want to help them out, you can of course use a home whitening kit on an occasional basis, but use a reputable one such as the Zero Peroxide system.