In this blooming age of appearances, where looks matter the most, a shimmering white smile is a must have. No wonder cosmetic dentistry and teeth whitening solutions abound everywhere. From one hour bleaching sessions at your dentist to home based bleaching kits, from effective but expensive laser treatment to cheap whitening toothpastes; you can have whiter teeth from whichever treatment that suits your budget and time.

Although teeth whitening solutions do produce substantial to moderate results, they are not devoid of harmful side effects. Following are the possible side effects from teeth whitening procedures:

• Teeth sensitivity: Whether you use a store-bought tray, a whitening strip, or get tooth whitening at a dentist’s clinic, the chemical used in all the three methods is the same hydrogen peroxide, which is known to cause sensitivity in teeth to heat and cold.

• Gum irritation: The bleaching agents used for teeth whitening are caustic in nature and can be irritating to the soft tissues of the mouth like gums and tongue.

• Enamel erosion: Using over the counter whitening toothpaste is not a bad idea as long as you don’t over do it. Caution must be taken while using these toothpastes as they contain harsh abrasives such as silica and aluminum oxide which can erode the natural enamel of the tooth.

Fading whiteness overtime: Another flip side of teeth whitening procedures like laser treatment and zoom bleaching is that, the cost of the treatment is quite expensive but the results are not permanent. Overtime the beautiful whiteness you have achieved fades and sometimes the teeth become even more discolored than before treatment.

What not to drink: More often than not, your dentist will tell you to avoid drinking dark beverages such as tea, coffee and soda or any colored drink can stain your teeth. Post-procedure, your teeth can absorb any color for the next three days until they harden.

However, you’re allowed to have clear liquids. This means you can’t have the juice of grapes, cherries, tomatoes, peaches, raspberries, cranberries, blackberries or cherries or even red wine, soy sauce and cola drinks. Also, avoid drinking slushes and popsicles as they contain a dye that stains your teeth.

Don’t drink very hot or cold liquids as at these extreme temperatures, the temperature of your teeth tends to change radically. This sharp change in temperature causes the teeth to expand and contract, thus permitting stains to penetrate.

Here’s a tip: Whenever you drink permitted liquids, use a straw as this helps reduce the amount of liquid that passes the front of your teeth and minimizes the breakdown of enamel.

Teeth whitening foods to avoid: Perhaps you enjoy eating blueberry muffins for breakfast, but remember it stains your teeth, so avoid them. Also, avoid sauces or marinades that contain soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, beets, Spanish and Indian food.

Besides, avoid eating dark-colored food for a few weeks after your teeth whitening treatment. Dark soups, stews, dark chocolate and other dark colored foods can also contribute to staining your teeth and leaving behind an ugly residue. Citrus fruits, due to their acidic properties, discolor the tooth enamel and should be avoided particularly last thing before bed. If you must eat them, then brush and rinse your mouth thoroughly after eating them.

Sweets, chocolates and desserts, being sticky, can attract bacteria if you don’t you’re your mouth well after eating. They also discolor your teeth and damage your teeth enamel.

Apart from teeth whitening foods to avoid among liquids and solids, cigarette smoking should also be completely avoided since its nicotine content stains the teeth and blackens them.

Overall, stick to a healthy diet and drink a lot of water. This is good for your body and bones. Take a lot of multivitamins and plenty of protein to keep your teeth strong.

Generally, teeth whitening strips are applied twice a day for about 10 days. A year later, it is repeated to remove any food or coffee stains and the natural yellowing of teeth due to age. In addition, teeth whitening strips are easy on the pocket and effective.

How safe are teeth whitening strips?

People do wonder about safe teeth whitening procedures and find it confusing to choose. However, most products apply hydrogen peroxide on the enamel, and this has proved to be safe since the degree of whitening depends on the amount of peroxide contained in the product and the duration that it stays in contact with your teeth.

Despite this, there are some teeth whitening side effects. These are:

• Hydrogen peroxide used as a bleaching agent in teeth whitening can irritate the soft tissues in the mouth.
• During the process of treatment, the teeth undergoing whitening become sensitive, causing the dentist to terminate the process and take it up again later.
• The dentist will not use anesthetic despite the huge possibility to pain because anesthetic enhances the safety aspect of the procedure, so you have to endure the pain.
• Using white strips only helps whiten one’s front teeth. This is true as much depends on how much your back teeth show when you smile.
• The bleaching solution that is applied on the tooth opens up microscopic pores in the tooth, thereby taking away the tooth’s natural buffer that is so important.
• You might experience an aching tooth after the procedure, particularly if the whitening agent touches the tooth nerve.
• If you use over-the-counter teeth whitening kits, the tooth tray that holds the gel might not fit your teeth perfectly. If this happens, the gel will ooze out of the tray and onto your gums, making them sensitive. Speak to your dentist about this and ensure that he recommends only one among the many safe teeth whitening kits available.
• If you often use over-the-counter teeth whitening kits, you will find that the enamel of your teeth gets eroded.

Though the list of teeth whitening side effects is long and might deter some people, they are not severe, but if it is going to keep you in discomfort, think again. Is this what you want? Opt for safe teeth whitening techniques-ones that will have your safety at the forefront.

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Most over-the-counter teeth whitening products are not recommended for children below 12 years. These include teeth whitening strips, gels, pens and mouth guards. But children are permitted to use mouth rinses, flosses, whitening toothpastes and gums. Parents should check the labels of whitening products to see if they are safe to use on children.

However, one must remember that children’s permanent teeth are never as white as their primary teeth. In time, children will grow into their own distinctive set of teeth, with their own size and color of teeth. Dentists call this “toilet bowl teeth” since children who undergo teeth whitening treatments have perfectly white teeth-just like the porcelain of toilet bowls.

If products are moderate in bleaching agent content, they should be considered usable. But on an average, it’s good to know that over 60% of children using teeth whitening products suffer from gum irritation and teeth sensitivity, which they usually find very traumatic to bear.

Children can have their teeth bleached to get rid of stains or yellowish teeth color. In such cases, trays should be used with the least concentration of bleaching agent. They should be used for many days, but not many hours a day and under professional supervision. What makes it safe and advisable for kids is that this bleaching treatment will affect color evenly over the tooth area.

Besides, pulpal damage is also highly likely. This refers to the tooth of the nerve or the pulp chamber of the child being enlarged until then. In this situation, teeth whitening treatments could only irritate the pulp or make it overly sensitive.

Considering that these problems are usually resolved by the time the individual is about 16-18 years, we can safely say that the right age for teeth whitening is 18 years. Anything under that should be seen on a case to case basis by the dentist who will determine whether the patient is of teeth whitening age or not.

Further, there is the possibility of hypersensitivity to set in if teenagers under 18 years of age continue to bleach their teeth using whitening systems. So, care should be taken to see that teeth whitening process is not addictive for teenagers, and done only to fulfill a narcissistic desire to look beautiful always.

Often, children might also have problems of stained or discolored teeth due to eating certain kinds of dark foods or drinking colas. They can safely opt for bleaching their teeth but by light methods. If they do, they should be a minimum age of 18 as otherwise their tooth sensitivity is far too great.

Parents should consider inculcating good eating habits in their children rather than opt for whitening treatments that could damage the latter’s teeth. The age for teeth whitening has come, but children must wait awhile unless absolutely necessary.

• Rub lemon juice on your teeth: Perhaps one of the best known teeth whitening home remedies is to use lemon juice on your teeth. Pour a few drops of lemon juice on your toothbrush and brush your teeth with it. Lemon, being acidic, helps erode some of the color off your teeth.
• Scrub your teeth with wood ash: To treat your stained teeth, wood ash is a good treatment as it contains substances that can serve to bleach your teeth, while its small crystals helps to scrape off plaque from the surface of your teeth.

• Rub strawberries on your teeth: By doing this, you will be able to get rid of all the stains on your teeth and improves your smile. Being citric like lemons, strawberries can soften the hard enamel of your teeth, but you must wait before brushing off or rinsing the berry mix or otherwise you stand to erode the enamel of your teeth.
• Take off dental plaque with baking soda: To whiten teeth at home, use baking soda as it is a good agent to clean your teeth of its plaque content and make them shine naturally. However, it can be slightly abrasive, so don’t overuse it lest you damage your teeth.
• Rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide: Any mouth rinse that contains 1.5% hydrogen peroxide can be used once or twice a day for two years to improve the health f your mouth, tongue and gums. However, to whiten teeth at home, don’t use higher doses of hydrogen peroxide content in your rinses as this may lead to mouth irritation, cancer or reproductive disorders. And yes, don’t swallow it.
• Rub your teeth with orange rind: This has known teeth whitening properties and is very effective when rubbed on the teeth.

Other natural home teeth whiteners include:

• Use a vinegar and water rinse.
• Combine dried orange peel and bay leaves for use as a natural home teeth whitener. You can also add a drop of clove oil to your toothpaste before brushing your teeth daily.
• Rub the bark of a walnut tree on your teeth.
• To minimize any contact with your teeth, form the habit of drinking any liquid with a straw.

If you have bad teeth, you need not worry as teeth whitening treatment for weak teeth is available as well. Weak teeth are cracked, chipped and contain cavities. Teeth whitening treatments are essentially harsh and therefore not recommended, if you have teeth disease and cavities, damaged enamel material, bare teeth roots, gum diseases etc.

Any tooth polishing method has the potential to aggravate existing gums and teeth problems and cavities, since some quantity of enamel material will be damaged in the course of the polishing as an unwanted side result.

Once off guard from the enamel tier, the exposed underneath dentin material will be prone to attacks and germs. This will result in further damage and you will find your teeth with increased toothache and discoloration.

So the first thing you must do is get good dental check up done. You must first get treatment for any kind of teeth and gum disease. Teeth bleaching can never be performed on teeth with cavities. So get all your cavities filled by your dentist before you set out to bleach your teeth.

You should not lose heart if teeth bleaching are not for you. You always have the option to understand your teeth and take special regular care which will improve the appearance of your teeth overtime.

Our teeth are prone to daily stress due to eating, drinking, smoking, medicines etc. This erodes the enamel making teeth look more translucent. This permits the yellow colour of dentin (the tooth’s core material) to show through, giving your teeth that dingy, unappealing look.

Due to constant chewing, millions of micro-cracks can also occur over the years. These cracks easily get filled up with excess debris, allowing stains to form and potentially causing cavities. Taking care of your teeth, as well as using the proper teeth whitening techniques, can help remove this plague build-up and the stains associated with the wear-and-tear of your daily eating routine

So if you want a beautiful white smile, you must take daily care of your teeth. Brushing your teeth after every meal will avoid the deposition of food particles. This will help you keep your teeth clean all day long.

So once your teeth are clean and cured of disease you can easily think of teeth whitening treatment, whether home based or at a dentist.

Teeth whitening is a process that seek to whiten the color of the teeth. It mainly deals with removing stains that lie on the outside of the teeth. A number of whitening treatments are available today to fit every budget, time frame and belief system.

Although tooth whitening does produce marvelous results, it is not a permanent cure or solution to discolored teeth. Any type of tooth whitening treatment is not permanent and requires touch ups maintenance. Overtime the whitening effects produced by any or all types of teeth whitening treatments will fade.

How often do I need teeth whitening?

This depends on the degree of color relapse that occurs overtime after initial treatment. With an at home bleaching system like tray based whitening, you can perform touch up treatments on your own depending on your need (yearly or half yearly).

Since the degree of discoloration is very less once one has undergone treatment, touch up work can usually be accomplished in one to weeks of treatment.

How often to use peroxide teeth whitening?

Carbamide Peroxide is the primary active ingredient or bleaching agent in the professional whitening gel. It is essentially a variation of Hydrogen Peroxide and combined with the unique adherence properties of the specially formulated gel, it provides the chemical reaction required to safely whiten your teeth.

Depending on the exposure to discoloring substances like smoking, tea, coffee etc, some people require peroxide touch ups every 6 to 8 months.

In order to increase the life of your freshly acquired bright smile, dentists over the word recommend the following dos and don’ts:

• Do use an at-home follow-up or maintenance whitening – implemented immediately or performed as infrequently as once a year.
• Don’t drink red wine or coffee immediately after your procedure. Both of these can stain your teeth and leave a residue that does not brush away easily. Quit smoking altogether while treatment is on.
• Do use a straw whenever possible while sipping dark collared beverages.
• Don’t use teeth whitening kits until at least 4 weeks after your treatment. Teeth whitening sessions can be fairly powerful, and you don’t want to damage your teeth with bleaching agents.

Thus to make the best of your teeth whitening treatment, you must follow a consistent oral hygiene accompanied by regular touch ups.

Ever wondered what could be the effects of smoking on teeth whitening? Smoking and drinking dark beverages both take a toll on enamel of the tooth. Nicotine in a cigarette leaves brownish deposits which slowly soak into the tooth structure and cause intrinsic discoloration. Hence the effects of smoking can make your teeth look grey and crooked.

The first step you should take to obtain whiter teeth again is to get a professional cleaning done. Although it will not completely improve the discoloration, it will remove most of the teeth stains.

The next step in teeth whitening for smokers is teeth bleaching. You can either do it at home or at a dentist. Laser teeth whitening is quick and effective treatment to combat any teeth stains especially those stains caused by smoking. Many teeth whitening clients in the UK undergo laser bleaching to remove teeth stains caused by smoking.

With the fast growing market of home based teeth whitening products and kits, bleaching your teeth at the convenience of your home is becoming increasingly popular. All you need to do is to buy an over the counter home teeth whitening kit and visit your dentist to make personal mouth guards, so that they fit your teeth precisely.

Home tooth bleaching has some advantages over in office professional tooth bleaching. The whitener that is used typically contains a much lower concentration of peroxide, thus making the potential for problems associated with side effects of whitening teeth less of an issue

However caution must be taken as any kind of teeth bleaching involves peroxide which can cause teeth and gum sensitivity. In rare cases, over bleaching may happen, which will show as a translucency that may appear gray from the shadows of the mouth. Thus care must be taken not over extend your bleaching session.

So you are now considering getting teeth whitening done but before that you must know how smoking affects tooth whitening process. Since teeth whitening is not a permanent solution and requires regular touch ups, it is not recommended for smokers. You must stop smoking before embarking on teeth bleaching.

Smoking not only mars the effect of tooth bleaching but hydrogen peroxide used in bleach can interfere with the smoke thereby causing an increasing effect on dental tissue damage already known to be caused by smoking.

So quit smoking and say cheese with your new pearly white and wide smile.

In order to get one’s teeth collared, one can either go to a dentist or whiten your teeth at home by buying an over the counter teeth whitening kit. While it’s quite a time that high strength home whitening kits have attracted attention, cosmetic teeth whitening through laser bleaching is the latest advancement in the field of cosmetic dentistry. Only one trip to the dentist and you can show off your gleaming set of white teeth.

Although expensive and requires a dentist visit, cosmetic teeth whitening or laser bleaching is superior to chemical bleaching and other similar procedures. Instead of waiting for the results to appear, with laser technology you get whiter teeth on the spot.

In this procedure laser beams act on the enamel and even the worst stains can be removed to expose smoother whiter teeth. The whole process lasts less than an hour with little or no additional complications.

What teeth whitening techniques get best results?

While laser offers immediate results, take home whitening kits promise long lasting results. In a home whitening kit, a whitening gel is placed in a tray that fits over your teeth. As the active ingredient in the gel, carbamide peroxide, is broken down, oxygen enters the enamel and bleaches the collared substances.

Home teeth whitening gives best results on moderately discolored and yellowish teeth. Comparatively cheaper and promising more permanent results, a home whitening kit is the most popular option to improve one’s smile.

However home based teeth bleaching kits are not as safe and convenient as they are shown to be. Media is full of horror stories of people with burnt lips or gums due to using these home teeth bleaching kits.

Keeping in mind the importance of teeth whitening, there are many different brands of professional teeth-whitening systems, each claiming to provide the best results. The most popular systems are Zoom!®, as featured on Extreme Makeover, Opalescence® , BriteSmile® and the latest Enlighten system.

Each system has its pros and cons, and your dentist will be able to advise you on which system would be best suited for your teeth.