The most common question I'm asked by patients is how can I get whiter teeth?
Teeth whitening is probably one of the most requested cosmetic dental procedures that people ask me for. Looks are perceived to be exceptionally important in today's day and age. Teeth bleaching is for almost everybody. It is extremely important to determine the cause of tooth discoloration, as it varies with every patient.
Most patients will have a yellow tint to their teeth, which is most responsive to tooth bleaching. Others can have gray, brown, yellow, and even red tinted teeth. Teeth can be discolored by pigmented liquids such as sodas, wine, coffee, tea, juices etc. Developmental disturbances of dental enamel can be caused by excessive fluoride intake (fluorosis) and deficiency in the amount of enamel (enamel hypoplasia) can cause tooth discoloration as well.
Whatever the case is, in-office whitening procedures usually use a light cured whitening process to accelerate the whitening procedure for dramatic results. Instead of whitening your teeth at home with trays, and taking weeks to see results, you can do an in office teeth whitening in an hour. Your gums and tissues are isolated with retraction material, leaving your teeth exposed. Hydrogen peroxide teeth whitener is then applied to the teeth every 20 minutes. The exceptional results are visible when treatment is complete that same visit.
Little Known Facts About "Bruxing" Or Grinding Your Teeth
So many of my patients are caught by surprise when I tell them that bruxing or grinding their teeth is one of the most destructive forces possible on their teeth. This is because it usually happens overtime and is unrecognized by the patient. Generally speaking, most people do it at night when consciousness is lacking, therefore they are not aware of grinding. Some patients may wake up with joint pain, teeth sensitivity, or sore muscles. Other patients will recognize that it's too sensitive to eat or drink cold things or even warm.
Very commonly, the culprit is teeth grinding and patients are unaware. Patients think tooth wear is a normal process that takes place, but they don't realize how damaging it is to grind their teeth. With time, some patients grind down to the nerve and as a result need root canals. Fortunately, with regular dental visits and check ups dentists can recognize this issue and offer a nightguard to protect your teeth. This is one of the many reasons it is important to see your dentist in a regular basis. Even if you're not a grinder, you should wear a biteguard for the protection of your teeth, while playing sports for example.
Teeth grinding does not only cause wear on teeth, but can also cause generalized sensitivity, broken or fractured fillings, cracked teeth, mobile teeth, and even abfraction lesions which is lost tooth structure at the neck of the tooth near the gum line.