Hello! My name is Den. This blog is going to cover a range of dental topics. I am not a dentist or a dental nurse but I have recently undergone a lot of dental treatment. This treatment has given me a great insight into the world of dentistry and I would like to share everything I have learnt with you here. Last year, I developed terrible pain in my mouth. I was diagnosed with severe tooth decay. The dentist removed the problem teeth and then inserted false ones in their place. He also whitened my teeth to improve my smile. I hope you find my blog useful.
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Noticeably uneven results can be the unfortunate outcome of whitening your teeth at home. Some of your teeth react as hoped, whitening to the desired level. Others may not seem to whiten much at all, and the end result is a smile of uneven shades of white. But why is this the case, and how can you even up your results?
Restorations
Have you accounted for any dental restorations in your mouth? These include fillings, dental crowns, veneers, and dental bonding. Remember that these restorations are made of porcelain, or even acrylic resin. They're designed to be tooth-coloured, and so to seamlessly blend into the surrounding dental enamel, but they won't respond to the whitening agent.
Active Ingredients
The active ingredient in the whitening agent is hydrogen peroxide. This permeates the dental enamel, oxidising and then interacting with the pigmented particles that are causing your teeth to be stained, reducing their size, and so essentially bleaching away the discolouration on your dental enamel. This process only works with dental enamel, and any restorations will not lighten. This could be causing your colour mismatch.
Dental Enamel
Restorations in your smile may not be the only culprit. If your enamel has thinned (often due to a combination of the acidic compounds in your diet and poor brushing habits), teeth whitening may prove to be ineffective. Dental enamel is partially translucent, and when it degrades, the underlying dentin (a substance which makes up the bulk of a human tooth) becomes more prominent. This dentin has a yellow tint, so the discolouration you see may be visible dentin, instead of typical staining. The equipment provided in an at-home whitening kit can also be contributing to your unsatisfactory whitening efforts.
Applicator Trays
Most at-home whitening kits use a one-size-fits-all applicator tray. For many people, the tray is so ill-fitting that the active ingredient won't be evenly distributed across your teeth. The personalised traits of your smile won't be accounted for either. Your teeth may be slightly misaligned, or crooked. They could also be unevenly spaced. These features can prevent a one-size-fits-all applicator tray from properly fitting.
Professional Whitening
See your dentist. They can whiten around your restorations, or even upgrade your restorations to a brighter shade, then whitening your teeth to match. Any teeth with thinning dental enamel may actually need to be fitted with a new restoration in order to protect it, with your other teeth then whitened to the same shade as the restored tooth. Your dentist can also manufacture a custom-made applicator tray for even results, allowing you to maintain your whitening at home.
Uneven results when whitening are a clear sign that an over-the-counter product isn't going to work for you. Fortunately, your dentist can find an approach that will work.
For more information about teeth whitening, contact a local professional.
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