Does
your smile dazzle and sparkle?
A
movie star smile is the first (well, maybe the second) attribute
men and women notice about each other. Your smile is associated
with health, personality and sexuality. What separates the Julia
Roberts from the Hannibal Lechter smile? A major, but not exclusive
factor is whiteness of their teeth. Unfortunately not everyone
is blessed with pearly whites. Enter modern dentistry. There
are two types of dull teeth. Extrinsic stains are caused by
not brushing the plaque from your teeth. Plaque is a sticky
film that forms on your teeth. It's loaded with bacteria, toxins
and food particles. If you feel your teeth are wearing little
fuzzy sweaters when you run your tongue across, then you have
plaque. Foods, wine and tobacco cause this gooey mess to stain
even darker. Fortunately, these types of stains can be removed
by your dentist with a thorough polishing. Being a little more
intense about oral hygiene can minimize its return.
When
polishing doesn't help, the problem is intrinsic (within the
tooth). Enamel is the hardest substance in your body (great
trivia question), but it is porous. Tobacco (smoking or chewing-how
gross!!), red wine (it doesn't matter if it's $3 Thunderbird,
or $100 Caymus), cola drinks, coffee, tea and certain foods
will cause deep discoloration. Other factors include the natural
shade of your teeth ---thank your folks and heredity for that
one. Tetracycline use at an early age, or even if your Mom was
given this antibiotic when pregnant, will cause a very gray
shade in your teeth.
Treating
this problem is a little more complicated than surface stains.
Bleaching teeth has become very popular in the past decade.
This is an excellent, non-invasive technique to whiten your
smile. Don't run down to the laundry room and put some Chlorox
on your teeth. Tooth bleaching chemicals are a gel form of peroxide,
with other ingredients to control it's pH (remember pH from
chem 101?), to prevent softening of enamel and tooth sensitivity.
Now
you've decided that this stuff is for me. Do you go to your
dentist (a few hundred dollars), or send away for the $39 kit
advertised on late night TV? As in other aspects of your life,
you usually get what you pay for. Non-professional bleaching
kits are inexpensive, and you don't need a trip to the dentist.
The downside is that the trays that hold the gel on your teeth
are very bulky, and can dig into your gums. The gel is a low
concentration that is not very effective on moderate to dark
stains. A new product, Crest Whitening Strips, eliminates the
trays by using what looks like pieces of bubble wrap to hold
the gel. It is promising for light discolorations.
What
about whitening toothpastes? They only work on surface stains,
the concentration of bleaching agent is very low, and does not
stay on your teeth long enough to be effective.
The
Dentist-here is what you get for the big bucks. An evaluation
to determine if bleaching will be effective for your type of
staining, a custom made and fitted bleaching tray, high strength
gel, help with occasional side effects that can occur, such
as gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. The dentist will also
evaluate the condition of your old fillings. If they are chipped
or broken, they will need to be repaired. Bleaching gel getting
under a defective filling is a no-no. If you have old discolored
plastic fillings, these will not get lighter from bleaching,
and should be replaced after the process is completed. Some
dentists use in office "power bleaching" with very high concentrations
of gel for a limited amount of time and/or "take home bleaching
kits". The latest technique is to use a laser activated gel
(how cool-a real laser). However, recent clinical trials fail
to show any significant improvement over bleaching gel without
the laser.
If
you think your teeth match the color of a yellow legal pad instead
of a glossy photo of snow-call your dentist.
