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After all, smiling is infectious, and when you know your teeth look your best, you can smile with confidence and spread your happiness to others. What’s even better is that improving your smile could be simpler than you imagine, and it may have some other nice side-effects like improving your oral health, giving you even more reason to feel good about yourself.
The first place to start is with a visit to your dentist.
Perhaps you had been considering over-the-counter or online options like teeth whitening, but you are far better seeing a dentist first.
While the ready availability of teeth whitening systems might make you think this is a beauty treatment, it isn’t.
Some teeth whitening products sold over the counter have the potential to harm your dental health if used inappropriately or if they are too strong for home use.
Others will only contain very weak active ingredients, which, while safe, will have little impact on your smile.
Only by seeing a dentist can you make sure that any treatments recommended are entirely safe and appropriate for your dental health and that they will have the desired effect on your smile.
When you see your dentist, they will want to check your dental health. You shouldn’t have any dental problems like cavities or signs of gum disease as these will need treating first. Otherwise, any treatments you do have will not last as long, and they could feel uncomfortable or even painful and may worsen oral health problems.
Another reason for seeing your dentist is so they can talk to you about how you’d like to brighten your smile and what you are looking to achieve.
Once they know your aims, your dentist can advise you on the best way to do this quickly and safely, and if needed, they can also provide treatments to help restore and protect your oral health.
If you have a chip or crack in a tooth, then you should get it mended as soon as you can. Any break in your tooth enamel can quickly let in harmful bacteria that will cause infection and decay. Dental bonding or mending the tooth will restore its appearance and will prevent further harm to the tooth.
This type of cosmetic restoration can be completed very quickly as your dentist will use a tooth-colored composite resin that is applied directly to the tooth surface. Composite resin is a very useful substance that can also help to rejuvenate your smile fast in a procedure called dental bonding.
You might want to consider dental bonding treatment if you have:
Dental bonding is an alternative treatment to porcelain veneers that are more expensive and more invasive. They usually require teeth to be modified slightly where your dentist removes a small portion of tooth structure from the front surface of the tooth.
With dental bonding, the composite resin can usually be applied directly to the front surface, so there is no need for your dentist to modify it, meaning the process is reversible if needed.
It’s almost certain that you want to brighten the color of your teeth as this is an extremely popular treatment.
Your dentists Dr. Alex Khabensky, DDS, and Dr. Igor Khabensky, DDS, can provide the most up-to-date whitening procedures using a professional-whitening gel that is far more effective and safer than anything you can legally purchase.
When your dentist examines your teeth, they can soon tell why your teeth have discolored, and in most cases, it’s often due to food and beverage choices. Those frequent cups of coffee may taste great but can stain your teeth, and the same goes for tea as well as for acidic drinks like wine and fruit tea.
Teeth discoloration due to acidic foods.
Suppose you prefer to eat a lot of acidic foods. In that case, it can hasten a process called acid erosion, where your tooth enamel becomes thinner and more transparent, letting the natural color of your tooth in the dentin underneath shine through. The natural color of a tooth can be yellow or even grey in tone.
Teeth discoloration due to food and beverage choices.
If your teeth are discolored because of food and beverage choices, a teeth whitening treatment can be highly effective. Your dentist will almost certainly offer in-office treatments, where you will see the color of your teeth lighten by several shades in just an hour.
During this treatment, your lips and gums are protected, and then your teeth are painted with whitening gel. Some dentists activate this gel with a light, which helps it to work a bit more quickly. Afterward, the gel is removed and can be reapplied several times during one treatment.
An in-home treatment achieves the same results but takes a bit longer. Your dentist will make a special set of mouth trays for you that fit perfectly over your teeth.
They will prescribe professional strength whitening gel in a form called carbamide peroxide, which is very safe for home use. The exact strength of the gel can vary, depending on if you have sensitive teeth.
People with more sensitive teeth can benefit from using a lower strength whitening gel so they can brighten their smile more comfortably, albeit slightly more slowly.
Some people use both treatments, first brightening their teeth in their local dental office before safely continuing the process at home with their custom whitening kit, under their dentist’s supervision.
Once you have your beautiful, brighter, and whiter smile, you will want to ensure the results last for longer.
The best way to do this is to follow your dentist’s advice closely. Initially, after teeth whitening, they will advise you to avoid colored foods for a few days, just until your teeth settle down, as initially, the tooth enamel is more vulnerable to staining.
Eventually, your teeth will darken again, but if you avoid highly colored foods and drinks, you can prolong the effects of treatment a little longer.
If you have a custom home whitening kit, you will most likely be able to reuse the custom trays, and your dentist can supply more whitening gel when appropriate.
