Why is having white teeth more and more important in the eyes of today’s society? Every man and woman desires to be beautiful and desirable. This is why so many people turn to cosmetic surgery, orthodontics, whitening and ceramic veneers to achieve their goal of a dazzlingly white smile.
We use the ZOOM Teeth Whitening System from Philips SA. Having existed for twenty years, this method has proven itself. It is easy to apply and lasts approximately between 1 and 3 years, depending on the patient’s habits, genetics and oral hygiene.
Consideration should also be given to the influence of newspapers, magazines and other news outlets, as well as television programs and films. All seen in these are the dazzling white smiles of actors, actresses and other celebrities in every walk of life. And yes, it has an influence, even if we don’t think it, it touches the subconscious of each of us without us realizing it.
Today beauty is one of the most important criteria in the eyes of society, and therefore everything is done to achieve it, or to get as close to it as possible.
WHAT IS THE TRUE NATURAL COLOR OF TEETH?
The natural color of teeth is not white, and apart from a very small number of unusual cases, the majority of the population has teeth with one of the shades represented on the palette we are talking about below. below.
It is true that one is tempted to believe in the dazzling whiteness of the teeth when one sees those of world famous celebrities on television or in various publications. Be aware, however, that this white is not natural, it is most often obtained by laying ceramic veneers like Glamsmile, as well as by good oral hygiene habits.
TOOTH COLOR
There are several shades and they differ greatly depending on the person.
All natural tooth shades are found, divided into families A, B, C and D.
COLOR PALETTE
- A = Reddish-brown
- B = Yellow-reddish
- C = Gray
- D = Grey-reddish
FACTORS CAUSING TOOTH SHADE VARIATIONS
Several factors, direct and indirect, have a profound influence on the color of teeth.
Below are the 2 different lists:
DIRECT FACTORS
- Natural products
- Over-the-counter products
- Feed
- Dentist actions
INDIRECT FACTORS
- Skin color
- The person’s age
- Surrounding lighting
- Heredity (genetics)
HABITS TO CHANGE TO HAVE WHITER TEETH.
One of the ways to remedy the influence of food and drink on the color of teeth is to brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth after every meal/wine/soda and coffee/cigarette break.
MOUTH AND TEETH HYGIENE
In the first place, emphasis must be placed on oral hygiene, it is certainly one of the actions which can, in most cases, avoid or at least delay the appearance of stains on the teeth and/or prevent their tint to become more yellow, gray, brown or simply darker. So brush your teeth at least twice a day for at least 2 to 4 minutes, use the dental floss in the corners where the brush does not have access, and the dental water jet for the areas hidden by the prostheses.
CONSUMPTION HABITS
Several current eating habits are harmful to the teeth. Why that ? There are a lot of foods and drinks containing colorings, natural or artificial, which will gradually change, yellow or darken the color of the teeth, or even cause stains to appear on them.
The reason is that the outer layer of enamel that covers the teeth is very porous and therefore the dyes from food and drink are easily and quickly absorbed by it.
PRODUCTS THAT YELLOW OR DARKEN THE TEETH
VEGETABLES
- Foods, condiments and spices that influence the color of teeth:
- tomato soup
- Tomato sauce
- Soya sauce
- Red beets
- Raspberries, cherries, blueberries
- Curry
- Paprika and Turmeric
- Balsamic vinegar
- Colorful candies and other sweets.
DRINKS
Beverages that have a negative influence on the color of teeth:
- Coca cola and other colored sodas
- Dark colored fruit juice
- Coffee
- Tea
For coffee it is possible to add milk, which minimizes its influence on the teeth, the same for tea or simply choose light colored teas.
CIGARETTES
Smoking, and therefore passing tobacco through the mouth, is certainly one of the actions whose influence on the color of the teeth is the strongest.
It is also the one that most quickly causes the appearance of stains on the teeth. The reason is simple, there are two elements in tobacco that are well known for leaving streaks that are hard to erase. (these are also valid for cigars)
- Tar
- Nicotine
MEDICATIONS
Several medications are well known to yellow or blacken as well as cause pronounced stains on the teeth:
- The iron
- Antibiotics (tetracycline,)
- Aspirin
- AntiPsychotics
- Fluorine
NB: Be sure to ask your doctor if there is an alternative medicine that does not affect the teeth.
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TEETH WHITENING – WHICH METHOD?
How do we proceed for a teeth whitening, or rather for the lightening of the teeth? It is quite simply a chemical reaction with the products used, the effectiveness of which depends on the concentration as well as the time of use of these.
Some have a quick effect, so you use them once a day for a while, others need to be used overnight, or longer and repeatedly. The reaction of these products is the lightening of the teeth by a number of shades. It is clear that if the teeth are dark, you will have to wait longer and do more treatments than for light teeth.
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO WHITEN TEETH:
- By using over-the-counter products.
- By using natural products that have proven themselves over the years.
- ZOOM professional whitening, with Hydrogen Peroxide.
We must not forget that unlike the ZOOM system, natural means do not necessarily have the desired results. These results depend in part on the nature of the teeth, their color and the type of their stains.
WHITENING WITH NATURAL PRODUCTS
- Make a paste with lemon mixed with a little baking soda and brush your teeth with it once a week, no more because baking soda is very abrasive.
- Make a paste by adding a little charcoal powder to the toothpaste and brush your teeth with it several times a week.
- Put coarse sea salt in a little warm water, soak the toothbrush in it and brush your teeth two to three times a week.
WHITENING WITH OVER-THE-COUNTER PRODUCTS
Over-the-counter products generally contain hydrogen peroxide (which is hydrogen peroxide), carbamide peroxide (increasingly used). There is also urea peroxide but it is less used today. These products are very effective, their action is on the surface of the teeth but does not penetrate inside them.
The function of these peroxides is to attack the elements or atoms that have accumulated on the outer layer of the teeth and give them their yellowish, reddish, grayish or simply darker color.
In fact hydrogen peroxide and carbamide are well known and effective bleaching agents, they have an excellent effect when used together. Many of the well-known whitening kits contain them.
PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING – PROCEDURE
- When a patient comes to the dental office for teeth whitening, Dr. Maarek will examine the color of the patient’s teeth to find out if bleaching will have any effect on it.
- Then he will check that there are no contraindications:
- If the patient in question is over the age of 18, it is not advisable to do whitening before this age.
- If it is a patient he will ask her if she is pregnant or if she is breastfeeding, because peroxide is dangerous for the fetus and for the newborn.
- He will check the patient’s mouth and do at least one cleaning plus a scaling if necessary, because for the whitening to succeed there must be no dental plaque.
- Then it will automatically check to see if the customer is allergic to certain products, and if so, to which products.
- He will also want to know if the client smokes, because if he smokes and continues to smoke, the whitening will have to be renewed every year.
It should be remembered, however, that bleaching the teeth will not necessarily make them completely white, it depends on the type of teeth of the person in question.
The changes are not really visible between two tooth shades, but after three shades it starts to show. The lightening of the teeth can go up to 7 shades, but in many cases the difference is already great with a change of 4 to 5 shades. Once again, it all depends on the type of teeth of the client.
Teeth whitening is not permanent, its duration varies between a few months and two to three years, but it will mainly depend on the change in the patient’s habits, which we talked about earlier on this page.