If you have stains on your teeth, then you may want a whiter smile, and a professional whitening can certainly remove some of the discoloration from the teeth. If you have never received a whitening treatment before, then you may be worried about how the whitening gel will affect the sensitive tooth enamel. This is real concern for many people. Keep reading to learn about some answers to your enamel questions.
Does A Whitening Destroy The Enamel?
A typical dental whitening completed by a professional will not harm your dental enamel. In fact, the whitening agent will not affect the enamel much.
While most people think that peroxide-based solutions will actively force debris from the enamel, this is not exactly true. The gel removes the stains from the small cracks in the tooth enamel. These cracks are called craze lines and they trap the food bits and coloring agents that make the teeth appear stained.
Once the craze lines are free of debris, the teeth appear more white. This happens because you are viewing the clean and clear enamel without all the food bits.
Although the enamel is not weakened during the whitening process, you may still feel a bit of sensitivity. This sensitivity is not coming from the enamel, but the dentin that sits just behind the enamel. Since the craze lines have been cleaned of debris, the dentin is a bit more exposed, and this layer of tooth material will release strong pain signals.
What Happens With Overuse?
As mentioned, a professional whitening will not weaken the tooth enamel. However, this does not mean that the teeth cannot become damaged if you receive whitenings too often or if an incredibly strong whitening solution is placed on your teeth.
If you schedule whitening too often, then the peroxide solution can create pits in the teeth. These holes will appear more rough and dull than the rest of the enamel, and the weakened areas are likely to develop cavities. Also, when the enamel starts to wear away, the dentin will be more apparent, and this later of material is more yellow in tone than the enamel. In other words, overuse of whitening products can result in teeth that are more yellow.
In some cases, white spots may develop on the teeth. These spots form when the teeth lose minerals in large quantities, and they can make the teeth appear quite aesthetically unappealing.
If you want to know more about whitening and the correct methods to remove stains from the teeth, make sure to speak with a cosmetic dentistry services professional.
Share17 January 2018
If you are someone who hesitates to open your mouth when you smile because you are embarrassed about your teeth, you should know that there are a number of cosmetic techniques that can give you a beautiful smile you will be proud to show to the world. As a cosmetic dentist, I have seen many clients transform their lives simply by fixing their smiles. This blog is meant to encourage people to find out about the possibilities in cosmetic dentistry so they can feel good about their smiles. A beautiful, confident smile really can change your life. I would love to show you how.
