A simple kind of cosmetic procedure that is available through your dentist is Teeth Whitening St. Louis. Removing stains and overall tooth yellowing and discoloration can remove years from a patient’s smile. The dentist can lighten the color of your teeth to any number of shades, and the dentist can advise you which one looks most natural for you.
Smoking can yellow the teeth, but even non-smokers can develop stained teeth from drinking coffee, tea, and wine, for example. When we eat highly acidic foods, or foods with sugar, they can wear down the enamel of our teeth. Underneath the enamel is dentin, which is darker than tooth enamel. So, sometimes tooth discoloration is not a stain from a food or beverage but rather it is the darker colored dentin showing through the tooth enamel. Another kind of discoloration occurs as a result of taking certain medications, or even drug abuse, and too much exposure to fluoride can cause a condition called fluorosis, which gives the teeth a mottled look.
Patients can purchase teeth whitening kits for home use, and there are kits with stronger concentrations that are available for purchase directly from the dentist’s office. Patients can also purchase toothpastes that will whiten the teeth, but these toothpastes may contain abrasive agents that actually wear away the protective tooth enamel. Instead, the most effective tooth whitening treatment is the kind performed at the dental office.
There are several methods of professional teeth whitening in St. Louis. For dental offices that use the tray system, the Teeth Whitening St. Louis process starts with the dental hygienist using trays filled with gel to make an impression of your top and bottom teeth. The patient will need to come back for a second appointment, because the dental office will use those trays to create custom designed teeth whitening trays that the patient can then take home and use again and again. They will give you a whitening gel that you will add to the tray, and then apply it to your teeth each day for several days. This process usually lightens patients’ teeth anywhere from four to eight shades lighter.
