Methods and means for teeth whitening.
Cosmetic dentistry has become a big and very serious business, nowadays. Teeth whitening has been one of the most lucrative activities in dental practices since early 90's and people are quite  happy to spend up to $1200 for a nice, bright smile.
As the term indicates, teeth whitening is a procedure of making the shade of the teeth brighter. Teeth whitening is a broader expression than bleaching. Whitening can be achieved by either chemical or mechanical means, such as mild abrasives. Bleaching is done chemically by the use of one of two agents; the carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide. With bleaching, progressively, the teeth may get brighter up to eight tones of the shade range. The degree of change depends on the original color of the tooth itself and the cause of the staining. For instance, yellow teeth respond better than gray ones. Stains caused by some antibiotics, such as tetracycline, taken in childhood may be proved extremely stubborn and satisfactory results may take several months to be reached.
The result of whitening is not permanent and the treatment must be repeated after a while, since teeth will get stained again. How soon this will happen depends on a person's habits. Smoking, tea, coffee, red wine and cola-type soft drinks are the most common staining factors. Especially for smokers the results may be unsatisfactory, unless they refrain from smoking, particularly in between the bleaching sessions.
Methods and means for teeth whitening.
 Teeth bleaching can be done at home under your dentist's instructions. At the beginning, your dentist will take a couple of impressions which will be sent to the lab. Within a few days, two accurate mouthpieces -otherwise called trays- will be sent back for you. These trays are very similar to gum shields. Your dentist will provide to you the mouthpieces and a bleaching material that must be added into the trays and applied in the mouth. Clear instructions will be given on how often and how long you should use the stuff each time at home. These instructions vary according to the concentration of the peroxide agent in the whitening gel. Usually the course lasts two weeks. Perhaps a consultation appointment will be booked for you, during the course.
Gel-tray based teeth bleaching kits contain bleaching material of the same strength, safety and effectiveness equivalent to your dentist's stuff. Customizable trays are included as well. That means the whitening procedure can take place entirely at home without any involvement on behalf of your dentist.
The price of a gel-tray based teeth bleaching kit is no more than $150. This is very cost-effective, considering the fee for a whitening course supervised by your dentist. This may easily reach the $650.
Teeth whitening can be done and completed at the dental practice as well. Mouthpieces and stronger bleaching gel are used. The procedure is performed with the aid of a laser or heating light. This method involves no more than two sessions of thirty or sixty minutes and the cost can be up to $1200.
Whitening toothpastes contain abrasive and polishing agents. Although they can maintain teeth in good appearance, when it comes in whitening the results are limited, since such toothpastes can remove only external stains.
There are bleaching kits in the market containing gels applied with brushes or strips without any trays. However, these kits do not deliver the expected results and may often lead to teeth spotting. This happens, because the concentration of the contained peroxide agent is too low plus the fact the whitening stuff is applied without any special mouthpieces and it is not spread evenly on the surfaces of the teeth. Mouth trays are essential for a good whitening result. Thus, gel-tray kits remain the most effective self-bleaching means in the market.
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