How to Get Whiter Teeth

Have you ever wondered how to whiten teeth? Teeth whitening can do wonders for your appearance and your whole outlook.

When a Hollywood icon storms or glides onto the screen blazing with charisma, what's the first thing you notice? Chances are it's the smile. Sure the face matters, the hair, the lineaments of the body. But that first flash of pearl white glory makes a tremendous impact.

Even if you have no aspirations to movie stardom, getting a beautiful smile can transform your life in so many ways. At job interviews a great open white smile can boost your status through the roof.

And of course in attracting the opposite sex, an open smile of radiant white is a great turn on. It radiates health and shows you take care of yourself. Surely these are powerful reasons to get whiter teeth.

In short, getting a luminous smile is one the best ways to makeover your image and it boosts your self-confidence through the roof. If you're one of those who raises a hand in front of your mouth before smiling you know what a damper that can be.

Fortunately, if you teeth are looking a little worn, the solution is to get whiter teeth and that's as close as your nearest dentist or pharmacy.

Teeth Whitening Fact Sheet: What You Need To Know To Get Whiter Teeth

Tooth whitening is a procedure to lighten the color of your teeth and remove stains and discolorations. It is actually a bleaching process that restores the color of stained or discolored teeth to get whiter teeth.

There are two main methods. The first known as the office bleach involves applying a highly-concentrated oxidising agent for a short period. This method gives quick results but is riskier. There is also a procedure called Laser

Whitening or "power whitening". In this, a whitening product is painted on your teeth. Then a laser is used to help boost the action of the bleach. The result is a much faster color.

The other procedure,known as take-home or over-the-counter bleaching, uses a thin mouthguard or strip to hold a low concentration of oxidising agent against your teeth for longer periods of up to several hours. This is carried out daily for 5 to 14 days.

As you age, your teeth tend to become darker due to changes in the mineral structure of your teeth. Your teeth can also become stained by certain medications such as tetracyclines, bacterial pigments, foodstuffs, tea and of course smoking.

If you're planning to have any whitening procedure, you should do it before the having dental work such as composite fillings, bonding, veneers, crowns, dentures, or porcelain restorations. This allows the dentist to to best match the whitening of your new dental work to your tooth color.

Possible side effects to the tooth whitening procedure include a temporary increase in tooth sensitivity, and mild irritation of the mouth's soft tissues such as the gums. The former usually happens during early stages of treatment. Tissue irritation generally results from an badly-fitting mouthpiece tray rather than the tooth-bleaching agent. Both conditions are temporary lasting a few days after completing treatment.

As a way to get whiter teeth, these procedures can give dramatic results but you must bear the following in mind. Firstly, if your teeth are dark gray due to fluorosis, smoking or tetracycline use, the results may not be perfect.  Furthermore, bleaching does not lighten artificial materials such as resins, silicants or porcelains.