Teeth whitening is an effective and safe way to reduce the appearance of stains on your teeth. If you’re interested in enhancing your smile, our Sydney Dental Group cosmetic dentists discuss your teeth whitening options to help you achieve the results you want. Discover how to make your teeth white with in-chair teeth whitening treatments and how you can preserve your whiter teeth at home with a take-home kit.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
Your teeth become stained over time due to diet, age, medication, illness, and poor oral hygiene. These conditions can cause weakened enamel, which allows pigments from food, drinks, and other substances to penetrate the porous outer layer of your tooth, altering the way light reflects from your tooth’s surface, giving it a yellow, brown, or grey tinge.
Teeth whitening products use hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to create an oxidation reaction with the pigments. The oxygen molecules bind to the coloured compounds, breaking them down and dispersing them to give your teeth a naturally brighter appearance.
How to Make Your Teeth White With Philips Zoom In-Office Teeth Whitening?
At the Sydney Dental Group, we use state-of-the-art Philips Zoom! Teeth Whitening to achieve brighter results, fast. Before your teeth whitening treatment, your dentist performs a deep cleaning to remove built-up plaque and yellow tartar from your teeth and gum line.
Prior to receiving your teeth whitening treatment, they may also assess your oral health to determine whether you need periodontal therapy or restorative treatment like fillings to ensure your teeth and gums are healthy.
After your teeth are cleaned, your dentist applies a barrier shield to isolate your teeth and protect your gum tissue. They paint the bleaching gel directly onto the teeth and shine a UV blue curing light on the gel for 15 minutes.
Your dentist removes the gel and asks you to rinse your mouth before comparing your tooth colour to a shade chart. If you haven’t achieved the brightness you desire, your dentist can repeat the process two more times to give you whiter teeth.
How to Make Your Teeth White With a Take-Home Whitening Kit?
For mild staining, you can get whiter teeth in the convenience of your own home with a take-home teeth whitening kit. At Sydney Dental Group, we provide custom-made teeth whitening kits to help you achieve whiter teeth in approximately 10 to 14 days.
During your appointment, your dentist takes impressions of your teeth to form a mould that is used to create a custom-made whitening tray that perfectly fits your mouth. This helps prevent the bleaching gel from spilling onto your gums and enables you to avoid accidentally swallowing the whitening treatment.
Your dentist provides you with carefully measured doses of bleaching gel that you inject into the apertures in the tray. Then, you place the tray into your mouth for the prescribed time and brush your teeth normally after treatment.
For Philips Zoom NiteWhite, you’ll keep the trays in overnight and remove them when you brush your teeth in the morning. This system uses carbamide peroxide rather than hydrogen peroxide as the active ingredient and has a slightly lower concentration than the daytime version.
For Philips Zoom DayWhite, you wear your tray for 30 minutes, once a day for two weeks, to achieve noticeable results.
Maintain Whiter Teeth at Home After Your Treatment
While professional teeth whitening offers long-lasting results, your teeth won’t stay white forever without regular maintenance. To keep your smile looking bright after your teeth whitening treatment:
Eat a healthy diet and avoid teeth-staining foods
Avoid highly pigmented foods and beverages like coffee, tea, red wine, chocolate, berries, and tomato-based sauces. Rinse your mouth with water immediately after eating to reduce the pigment’s exposure to your enamel if you enjoy these foods regularly.
Choose fibrous fruits and vegetables like celery, carrots, broccoli, apples, and pears. The fibre in these foods helps to mechanically remove staining pigments and plaque from your teeth without brushing. This makes them an excellent choice for snacks between meals.
Don’t smoke or use tobacco products
Tar and nicotine found in tobacco products are highly pigmented. Smoking can also lead to dry mouth, gum recession, and tartar buildup, contributing to tooth discolouration.
Talk with your doctor or use resources like Quitline or the MyQuitBuddy app for support as you quit smoking.
Brush with a teeth whitening toothpaste
For touch-ups between teeth whitening sessions, use a whitening toothpaste to remove mild staining.
Whitening toothpaste has mildly abrasive ingredients, so you should only use them a few times a week unless the manufacturer indicates daily use.
If you experience increased tooth sensitivity after using a whitening toothpaste, stop using it or alternate brushing with regular fluoride toothpaste.
Visit your dentist for an oral exam and professional cleaning
Regular dental visits are crucial for maintaining whiter teeth. Schedule a check-up and exam twice per year so your dentist can identify, monitor, or treat any oral health issues like tooth decay or gum disease.
Get a Whiter Smile With Your Sydney Dental Group Dentist
If you want to brighten your smile quickly and safely, contact the Sydney Dental Group at (02) 9158 6135 for a professional teeth whitening appointment. Our experienced staff can provide fast, effective treatment and offer advice about how to maintain your pearly white smile.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
6 Simple Ways to Naturally Whiten Your Teeth at Home
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/whiten-teeth-naturally
Philips Zoom’s Take-Home Teeth Whitening Kit
https://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-pe/teeth-whitening/zoom-at-home