If you are considering teeth whitening, a general dentist in Lafayette can help. Panoramic Dental has been helping patients get that perfectly white smile for years now. Before you schedule an appointment for teeth whitening in Walnut Creek or Lafayette, learn more about the facts on this procedure.
Your Smile Will Be Dayglo White
Who hasn't seen celebrities with smiles so white they could glow in the dark? A lot of patients who choose to get teeth whitening think that their smiles will be blindingly white. That is a myth because your teeth will only be as white as the whitening agent will safely allow.
Your general dentist in Lafayette checks your teeth for the amount of enamel you currently have. Then he or she adjusts the strength of the whitening agent so that it won't damage your teeth but it will whiten. However white your teeth get after that is exactly your shade.
Dental Whitening Needs to Be Done Often
Most dentists will not whiten teeth more often than two or three times a year. Even that is a little much. While the whitening agents in dental offices are often much safer than the over-the-counter items in a store, you don't want to overdo it.
Repeating Dental Whitening Can Cause Cavities
Dental whitening agents do not cause tooth decay. Poor oral hygiene does. If you have cavities when you ask for whitening, the cavities must be addressed first. Your cosmetic dentist will not perform whitening procedures on any teeth with cavities as the whitening agents can increase tooth sensitivity.
Whitening Agents Can Correct Tooth Discoloration
That depends on your definition of tooth discoloration. If all your teeth are dark yellow due to heavy smoking, the whitening agent can lighten the color of your teeth, but it may not make them brighter and whiter. When you have some mottling on a tooth or two, and brushing hasn't changed that, tooth whitening can't fix that either. The lighter and more uniform the discoloration across your teeth the whiter and brighter your smile will be after whitening.
Your Teeth Resist Yellowing After Whitening
No, they do not. Whitening agents are not a magic barrier against yellowing. If you still have the same eating and drinking habits, the same smoking or tobacco chewing habits, etc., your teeth will gradually yellow again.
The only surefire way to prevent or slow the yellowing process is to stop eating and drinking everything that yellows teeth (which is unlikely) and/or avoid tobacco products. You also have to brush three times a day to remove everything that could still yellow your teeth.
Getting Teeth Whitening in Walnut Creek, CA
Getting your teeth whitened will be obvious afterward. Some people are sometimes more self-conscious with their smiles after they have whitened their teeth because people notice. Others are less self-conscious because their smiles are white enough that they don't feel embarrassed to smile.
Your own experience depends on a lot of factors. However, you won't know how that works out until you schedule your consultation and whitening appointments with Panoramic Dental. Contact us today!