Teeth whitening: how the procedure works and what effect it gives

Modern methods of obtaining a Hollywood smile make it possible to whiten teeth by 6 to 12 tones, and even remove old pigmented plaque. Procedures using ultrasound, laser, and the Zoom system are painless and safe, and the resulting effect lasts up to 5 years with proper oral care. However, when using even gentle techniques, the sensitivity of dental tissues increases, and the enamel loses part of its natural protection. After teeth whitening, it is very important to maintain your doctor's recommendations. They are aimed at reducing the risks of negative consequences and securing results.

What diet should you follow after whitening?

Before you whiten your teeth, you need to decide to change your diet for the next few weeks. In order for the resulting effect to be consolidated and preserved for a long time, they adhere to a white or transparent diet.

All foods that contain coloring pigments or that can cause darkening of the enamel are excluded from the diet:

• coffee, tea, red wine, juices, hot chocolate, cocoa, sweet sodas;
• beets, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, red cabbage;
• blueberries, blackberries, black currants, mulberries, blueberries, grapes, cranberries, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, cherries;
• black bread, buckwheat;
• spices with yellow pigment (turmeric, curry), paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg;
• confectionery products with artificial colors;
• liver, heart.

In general, the diet will remain rich, since there are many products and dishes included in the white diet. These include all light vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, milk and dairy products, potatoes, cereals, pasta, nuts, and oils. Among berries and fruits, white grapes, melon, pears, and bananas are neutral. Drinks you can drink are light juices, lightly brewed green tea, and mineral water.

Strengthen the enamel so it doesn't hurt!

During preparation for whitening, the dentist may recommend a course of remotherapy to strengthen the enamel and reduce its sensitivity.

The procedure is done in a clinic and continues independently at home for 14 days. Remotherapy can also be prescribed after teeth whitening.

We talk about remotherapy in the article What causes tooth sensitivity and will remotherapy help me?

Philips , which offers ZOOM whitening, for maximum safety and painlessness of the procedure, includes a special Relief gel in its whitening kits, which is applied to the teeth before and after the procedure.

Relief Gel strengthens enamel and reduces sensitivity during and after whitening.

See how Relief Gel protects your teeth.

Now that you are ready to whiten your teeth, let's figure out what whitening methods exist and what each of them is intended for.

Hygienic care rules

Since the gums and dental tissues become more sensitive and weakened during the first few weeks, special hygiene requirements must be observed:

• Replacing the brush. Bacteria accumulate on the bristles over time, so it is recommended to change the dental plaque removal tool once every three months. After the whitening procedure, this must be done immediately, as the gums and enamel may be slightly injured. Even small cracks will become a path for pathogens to penetrate inside. You need to buy a brush with soft bristles, and after a few weeks replace it with a harder one.
• Competent selection of toothpaste. Products are chosen with low abrasiveness. This indicator indicates the strength of plaque abrasion, or, more simply, hardness. In the specifications it is indicated by the abbreviation RDA. It should be within 30 - 50 units. To strengthen the surface layer and saturate the enamel with microelements, pastes with fluoride or calcium are chosen. The higher the percentage of these substances, the better. If gum sensitivity is increased, then buy restorative gels with herbal extracts.
• Mouth rinses. After eating, be sure to rinse your mouth with clean water or mouthwash. If there is inflammation of the gums, use safe antiseptic solutions: Chlorhexidine, Miramestin, Rotokan. Do not rinse with herbal decoctions, as they can stain.
• Comprehensive care. To maintain hygiene at a high level, additional devices are used: interdental brushes, flosses, irrigators. If teeth have been additionally cleaned to remove supragingival or subgingival calculus, anti-inflammatory and regenerating drugs are applied to the gums, for example, Metragil Denta.

In order to always have white and healthy teeth, you need to undergo professional oral hygiene at the dentist once every six months.

First, oral health, and then the beauty of teeth!

Agree that snow-white teeth do not go hand in hand with caries, inflamed gums and bad breath. A wide, “dazzling” smile will not be enhanced by the absence of some teeth and pronounced orthodontic problems.

In general, first a healthy (sanitized) oral cavity, and only then whitening - as the final touch to a flawless smile!

Despite the fact that teeth whitening is a cosmetic procedure and is done solely at will, it has contraindications.

Relative contraindications include :

1. Caries, pulpitis, periodontitis
2. Chips, microcracks of enamel and wedge-shaped defects (exposed necks of teeth)
3. Increased tooth sensitivity
4. Inflammatory processes on the oral mucosa and gums

Without knowing the true condition of the oral cavity and starting whitening, you risk experiencing acute pain and damaging your teeth and gums.

Absolute contraindications may differ for different whitening systems, so we will provide information on Philips ZOOM professional in-office whitening:

1. Pregnancy and lactation
2. Age up to 14 years
3. Increased sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation and taking medications that cause tissue sensitivity to the effects of a light source (with this contraindication, chemical, lamp-free teeth whitening is possible)

It is recommended that you visit your dentist before any whitening procedure.

How long do teeth stay white: fiction and reality

One of the main questions that almost all patients ask is: “How long does dental whitening last?”

What can't you trust?

If you believe what they write on the Internet, then laser teeth whitening, which many rightfully consider the best, can lighten the enamel for the rest of your life, provided that you carefully care for your oral cavity. But if you don’t, then there’s no need to worry, because your teeth will darken by only 1-2 shades, and the result will last for almost a dozen years.

Laser whitening is considered the best way to lighten enamel

Those who wish to use photo-bleaching methods often find information on the Internet that the results can be maintained for 10 years or more. Adherents of chemical methods and cosmetic whitening are less fortunate, because on the Internet they write that the enamel will be white for only 1-5 years.

What is it really like?

Professional doctors bring patients back to reality, arguing that even the best teeth whitening method is not able to lighten the enamel once and for all.

Most experts also share this opinion: the greater the effect achieved from one or another whitening method, the longer the result can potentially last (about 3-5 years on average), but the teeth will still gradually darken from plaque accumulating on them, which periodically needs to be deleted.

Doctors emphasize that the safety of the result will directly depend on how carefully you care for your oral cavity and follow certain recommendations3, which we will talk about later.

Teeth whitening prices

Teeth whitening: how the procedure works and what effect it gives

November 14, 2017

The Hollywood smile is snow-white, flawless and radiant: the achievements of modern dentistry make it possible to make the advertising dream a reality. Teeth enamel reflects all our habits, including bad ones: coffee, tea, wine, cigarettes, poor hygiene.

But dentists have tools in their arsenal that will restore a snow-white smile. What is teeth whitening, how does this procedure work, what are the contraindications and what effect can you expect?

WHAT TEETH DO WE WHITEN AND WHAT EFFECT DO WE COUNT ON?

Whitening is considered a beauty procedure; therefore, the doctor’s attention in this case is focused on those teeth that are visible to others when you smile.

“This is called the “smile zone” or “aesthetic zone”: from the fifth to the fifth tooth, but sometimes from the sixth to the sixth, if a person is used to smiling widely,” says Elena Vatav, a dental therapist at the Tarilux dental studio. — How many shades teeth can be whitened after one procedure can only be discussed in each specific case. Everything depends on the initial color of the tooth, then the doctor, relying on his experience and the experience of his colleagues, can predict the result that will result after whitening. But in general, it’s possible to lighten teeth from three to twenty shades.

It is not uncommon for patients to expect instant results. So: there is no need to confuse science and miracles. And a competent specialist will never promise you the impossible.

“It happens that it’s impossible to achieve a color as white as a sheet of paper the first time,” the doctor continues. - Remember how hair coloring is done, the same principle applies. The effect needs to be maintained by carrying out the necessary procedures at home.

HOW IS THE PROCEDURE?

It all depends on the source data. Of course, a mandatory step before whitening is professional teeth cleaning. If there is no caries in the whitening area, you can proceed. Artistic restoration and correction in the anterior region are carried out after bleaching in order to match the color of the material to your new teeth color.

“Only tooth tissues are whitened, fillings are not,” explains Elena Vatav. — Bleaching is a chemical process. It is carried out with a special gel containing carbonide peroxide of a certain percentage, usually 33%. The higher the percentage of active ingredient, the stronger the effect. The gel is in a syringe, vacuum-packed and stored in the refrigerator. It is individual for each client. Before the procedure, the doctor must open the package in front of you and make sure that the gel was stored in the refrigerator. Before the procedure, the gums are isolated with a special material, then a gel is applied to the frontal group of teeth, which is activated under the influence of a lamp. The carbonide peroxide evaporates, releasing oxygen molecules that penetrate the pores of the tooth and push away the pigment molecules.

The whitening procedure has a cumulative effect - oxygen continues to work on your teeth far beyond the doors of the dentist's office. The exact effect can be assessed only after one and a half to two weeks.

HOW LONG DOES THE EFFECT LAST?

For some patients, one procedure may not be enough; in this case, we are talking about the owners of “tetracycline” teeth with a brownish-pink tint. Then, to get the desired effect, you will need to return for a second session in a month or a month and a half.

“If the color is already white, but a person wants to be even whiter, the doctor guides him on so-called whitening strips, which you can use yourself at home,” says Elena Vatav. — Lamp whitening is not recommended to be done too often; after all, it is quite aggressive, and its effect lasts on average for 9 months. After this period, a repeat procedure is scheduled. Each time, the teeth will become lighter and lighter.

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE EFFECT

Don’t think that the miracle gel will do everything for you. The owner of a snow-white smile at home must maintain the effect achieved through the efforts of the dentist: use whitening strips in accordance with the schedule determined by the doctor, follow a “white” diet for the first two or three days, and also pay due attention to oral hygiene.

— The “white” diet is effective in the first 48-72 hours after bleaching. During this time, for the desired effect, you need to give up coffee, black and green tea, red wine, coloring vegetables and fruits, soy sauce, chocolate, and sweets with artificial colors. And after the time set by the doctor, please eat and drink,” says the specialist. — Whitening strips should be used for a course of 7-14 days; during this time it is also better to avoid coloring products.

CONTRAINDICATIONS TO WHITENING

— Age up to 18 years. Until this age, our tooth enamel is just forming and becoming denser.

- Pregnancy.

— Acute period of gum disease.

HOW MUCH DOES WHITENING COST?

Teeth whitening is not a cheap procedure. This is explained by expensive materials, complex, almost jewelry-like work that a doctor must carry out, and analytical work - each patient is individual, so a competent forecast of results and ways to achieve them plays an important role. Do not believe too cheap offers and make a choice in favor of trusted dental clinics, keeping in mind that the adequate price for teeth whitening ranges from 13,000 to 21,000 rubles on average.

Based on materials from the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda”

What to expect after home treatments

Many people understand that the best teeth whitening is the one that is performed under the strict supervision of a dentist. But sometimes you really want to try more budget-friendly solutions, so it’s important to know how many shades you can lighten your teeth using various home remedies, and how long the effect lasts after that. Let's talk.

The best whitening effect is provided by all sorts of strips, pencils and gels (used in conjunction with trays). They allow you to lighten the enamel by 3-5 tones, but only on condition that you have undergone thorough preparation for the procedures, and this or that product has been selected by the dentist taking into account the clinical situation. With careful oral care, positive results can be maintained for the next 6-12 months.

For whitening, the tray is filled with a special whitening composition

Whitening pastes and brushes allow you to achieve changes of 1-2 shades. However, numerous reviews say that the effect disappears immediately, as soon as you stop using these products. They cannot be used on an ongoing basis, otherwise they can make the enamel very thin and sensitive.

Those who prefer to limit themselves to traditional products, such as salt, soda, activated carbon and lemon, should not expect that their teeth will change much. Yes, if the color is initially not very dark and there is no mineralized plaque, the procedures are carried out systematically (1-2 times a week for a month) and all restrictions are observed during this period (quitting smoking, “white” diet), it is possible to whiten the enamel by 1 , maximum 1.5-2 shades. But it will not be possible to maintain the result for longer than 2-4 weeks even with very careful hygienic care of the oral cavity.