We think of the snow-white smile and wish that we had one to display to others. The fact is that it is not only an integral part of the image of a successful person who is not indifferent to his/her health, but also a sure-fire way to always be confident. Unfortunately, very few people have a beautiful smile for a variety of reasons: the nature of yellow enamel, loss of natural white with age, bad habits and so forth. The fact is that different methods of teeth whitening can bring back the beauty of a smile, without damaging teeth and overall health. We know how it is achieved and, in this article, we endeavour to share the secrets of a ‘‘Hollywood’’ smile with you.

Where colour disappears

Let us consider why teeth lose their whiteness. There are several reasons for this. To begin with, any person, as a result of age, will begin to experience darkened teeth. This is natural and inevitable. Gradually, tooth enamel becomes thinner and this is exacerbated by habits such as an addiction to coffee or tea, drinking red wine, smoking and poor oral hygiene. In addition, darkening of the teeth may be the result of injury or the use of drugs.

What to do?

In some cases, to significantly refresh your smile, you must invest in a professional cleaning with ultrasound or soda composition. ‘‘Bleaching’’ is also an option, as is ‘‘debridement’’, which is a professional method of removing the build-up of calcium deposits, tartar or plaque. The professional whitening option can be done in one of two ways. For a desk (office) teeth whitening procedure, as the name implies, the dentist does the cleaning in his office. Alternatively, the whitening can take place at your home, with a home patient tutor (the doctor controls every step to ensure that it is done properly).

Office Teeth Whitening

The desk whitening works very efficiently and quickly. In about 1.5 hours, your teeth will be brightened by 8-10 shades. Office bleaching can be performed by three methods: using light (photo-bleaching), a special laser or a chemical composition. All of these methods involve applying a gel concentrate on the teeth, which is a hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. The only difference between these two is the additional element that enhances the action of the bleaching agent. The most common procedure, perhaps, is photo-bleaching and it is for this procedure that you can visit our clinic. Using this method, the bleaching composition, upon exposure to light, releases active oxygen, which penetrates the enamel and cleans it from its dark pigments. Therefore, photo-bleaching is often called «fading with molecular oxygen».

Home Teeth Whitening

Home bleaching can go wrong, so caution is vital. The patient is working, in many ways, individually while following instructions. He, himself, puts the home bleaching composition on, followed by caps for a certain period. Home bleaching can be done day or night. Depending on requirements, gels with different compositions may be used. At night, the patient must use a mouth guard to keep the teeth covered for 6-10 hours. This is easily worn without much discomfort. For the full home whitening, the patient needs to wear a mouth guard for an hour a day for 5-10 days or until he has achieved the desired effect.

Contraindications to professional whitening

Properly conducted whitening is safe for teeth. Still, in some cases, it cannot be done or is not recommended. Absolute contraindications include: pregnancy and lactation, strong natural tooth sensitivity, severe enamel damage, gum disease, Braces and term of six months after they have been removed.

Dentists do not recommend bleaching for individuals aged less than 18 years. If you have fillings or a crown, it is necessary to take into account the risk because they are not bleachable.

Procedure Overview

First, be sure that the doctor examines you to rule out contraindications. Then, the doctor can safely begin the procedure of a sanitary cleaning of your teeth and removal of plaque. If the teeth are dark, a bleaching may be most effective. We recommend having the teeth cleaned of build-up a few days before whitening the enamel.

Before starting the procedure, the doctor will take a photo in order to record the original colour of the teeth. This will allow for the ability to rate the results properly later on. Then, the dentist will use a special substance to protect the mucous membrane of the gum from the whitening gel and procedure. Finally, in the case of office bleaching of the teeth, there will be a total of three applications lasting about 15-20 minutes each.

Results

The effect will be kept in its original form from a few months to about three years, but your teeth will always be lighter than before the procedure.

Nonetheless, there will be a noticeable darkening over time. For longer enjoyment of a snow-white smile, eliminate regular consumption of staining foods and beverages and avoid smoking. Also, to support the effect, it would be good to utilise home whitening kits recommended by a dentist. We do advise to visit your dentist/hygienist regularly for professional cleaning of the teeth.

After bleaching

To achieve the optional teeth-whitening desired results, within 48 hours after the procedure, it will be necessary to maintain a ‘‘colourless’’ diet. Remember, you will be better off by: quitting smoking, tea, coffee, red wine and bright sodas, Only using white toothpastes and elixirs. If you wish to play it safe, you can extend the diet restrictions for a few more days.

Risks in the bleaching of teeth

Just to emphasise: the tooth enamel will not be adversely affected by bleaching. It will not change the integrity of the enamel. Some patients, during the treatment and afterwards, may feel an increase in tooth sensitivity. Usually, this phenomenon is nothing to worry about and should disappear in a couple of days. Dentists at Vitadent not only know everything about teeth whitening, but also maintain a standard of excellence that is second to none.

We are waiting for your visit.

20 Georgiou A, Drakos Beach House, Flat 1

Potamos Germasogeia, 4047 Limassol

Tel: 25 00 19 20 | Email: [email protected]

Working Hours: Monday – Friday: 9am-1pm & 3pm-7pm