It’s a fact of life that teeth can become dingy and yellowed through the years. Your diet, age, personal habits and more affect the shade of your teeth. Even with the best care, it’s nearly inevitable that at some point you’ll want to brighten your smile. Once you pursue teeth whitening, you’ll want to be sure to make your new smile last as long as possible.
Over-the-counter products are readily available from your local drugstore and simple to use. However, they can take a long time to obtain full results and even then, you may not achieve the desired shade you’d like. Professional teeth whitening is the fastest and most dramatic way to brighten your smile.
If you spend the time and money to whiten your teeth professionally, making it last will be important to you. Results can last for a long time, but probably not forever. Here are some tips for making your white teeth last longer:
Watch your diet especially carefully for the first 48 hours following treatment. Your teeth are at the most risk for staining during this timeframe.
For the first few days, avoid eating known staining foods like blueberries, beets, dark soups, marinades, sauces, curry or tomato products.
At first, avoid broccoli, green beans, peas, sprouts, corn, or skinned potatoes. These have increased risk of particles getting stuck into the highly susceptible tooth pores after whitening treatment.
Watch out for citrus fruits that are high in acidity, which can also make your saliva more acidic. Your teeth are more prone to damage from acid when they already have increased sensitivity from the whitening chemicals.
Avoid drinking dark colas or coffee, since both can stain your teeth no matter when you drink them.
Get in the habit of drinking from a straw so that dark colored drinks don’t come into as much contact with your teeth.
Choosing the right foods and drinks after teeth whitening can make a big difference in the length of time your teeth stay white. Make the best decisions to enjoy your bright smile.
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You may think there is nothing to be done if your smile has become unattractive due to tooth damage like chipping, discoloration, or misalignment. However, dentists offer a solution called porcelain veneers that can restore your smile and give you the confidence to show it off.
Made out of durable and natural-looking porcelain, veneers are thin shells that cover the fronts of your teeth so that imperfections are no longer visible. Problems that caused you to hide your teeth in the past will be covered up by these porcelain tops. The process for getting veneers is simple. There is no surgery or anesthesia required. Your dentist will make impressions of your teeth to enable your custom-made veneers to fit perfectly. These will be sent to a laboratory for veneer development, which can take several weeks. Your dentist may need to prepare your teeth by removing a small amount of enamel, and then the veneers will be adhered to the fronts of your teeth with a secure resin.
There are other options for handling various kinds of tooth damage, but veneers may be the simplest and most durable choice. For example, chipped teeth can be improved with dental crowns, but this can be a more invasive procedure. Yellowed teeth can be whitened with various methods, but this is not as permanent as porcelain veneers. Durability is one of the greatest benefits of veneers, because they don’t discolor and are permanently secured to your teeth. If you properly care for them with good oral hygiene, veneers can last a lifetime.
Another major selling point for veneers is that they can exactly replicate natural teeth. Your dentist will have your customized veneers created by matching the color and shape of your face and personal features. Others may not even realize you have them, other than the fact that those who knew you before will notice your beautiful new smile. So if you are unhappy with your current appearance of your teeth and want to quit being embarrassed to smile, porcelain veneers may be just what you need.
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By far, the best way to brighten and whiten your smile is through an in-office treatment performed by your dentist. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the whitening gel used by your dentist is much higher than that which can be obtained over-the-counter by you in a drugstore. Lasers or special lights are employed by many dentists to achieve the best results.
With the rise in popularity of in-office teeth whitening, some specialty brands have emerged that offer different methods and ingredient strengths to address even the most stubborn stains.
BriteSmile also uses whitening gel and a blue light, but their gel has a concentration of 15 percent hydrogen peroxide and a nearly neutral pH level, a mix that is easier on sensitive gum tissue.
Lumbrite employs a custom light, known as the Sapphire Plasma Arc Curing and Whitening Light. This light has no destructive UV rays, although the gel is so strong it can work without the light. Lumbrite also has a desensitizing agent in its gel to reduce problems with sensitivity.
GLO Science Professional has a specialized mouthpiece that employs Guided Light Optics (GLO) that works in tangent with a whitening gel, delivering light and heat to the tooth surfaces. The mouthpiece prevents oxygen from leaving the treatment area, giving optimal whitening results.
Philips Zoom! is one of the most popular and well-known of the teeth whitening brands available at the dentist’s office. Their whitening gel uses a 25 percent concentration of peroxide which is stimulated by a proprietary blue light to achieve maximum whitening and is said to provide a more sparkling look to your enamel.
Opalescence uses one of the most powerful gels available, utilizing a 40 percent concentration of hydrogen peroxide as well as potassium nitrate to reduce gum and tooth sensitivity after treatment. It also contains fluoride which strengthens the tooth enamel and reduces decay.
Talk to your dentist today to determine which of these or any other professional whitening methods is best for you and your teeth whitening needs.
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It’s back-to-school time and that means kids everywhere will be participating in sports. It’s time for football, soccer, volleyball, and all sorts of sports teams to get back in shape. That not only means conditioning your body, but also getting all the right gear. One item that you don’t want to forget is a mouth guard to protect yourself from mouth and facial injuries.
Dentists recommend mouth guards for participants in both high-impact sports and individual sports. Team sports often resulting in mouth injuries include football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and hockey. Individual sports that carry high risks include cycling, gymnastics, skateboarding, martial arts, and rollerblading.
Mouth guards are worn to protect the mouth from a variety of possible injuries. They may be minor like a chipped or cracked tooth, or cuts from biting the inside of your mouth. Worse injuries can occur like jaw fractures, and athletes might experience tooth loss or nerve damage. Fractures can cause difficulty breathing, swallowing, eating, or speaking.
Dentists suggest that many sports injuries can be avoided by wearing a mouth guard, and they are available for athletes of all skill sets and ages. They are available in most sporting good stores, or you can opt to have customized mouth guards created by your dentist. Mouth guards are even available in a wide variety of colors, so athletes can choose them to coordinate with their school colors. They are also useful for people who wear traditional braces or Invisalign retainers.
Because many sports can be risky, there’s no reason to ignore the danger to your mouth. Wear a mouth guard to protect your smile throughout the season.
We look forward to seeing you in our Sicklerville dental office
An estimated 50 million Americans have lost all their teeth, and 69 percent of adults are missing at least one tooth. Without a full set of teeth, you may deal with alignment problems, dietary restrictions, and self-esteem issues. With modern dentures, your dentist can renew your appearance and improve oral health.
Dentures are prosthetic appliances created to replace missing teeth. Full dentures are rows of false teeth that cover the upper, lower, or both arches. If you still have some of your natural teeth, your dentist may suggest a partial denture, which fits into the empty space in your smile like a puzzle piece.
How do dentures feel? At first, your prosthesis may take some getting used to, so give your mouth time to adjust. You may have some difficulty with pronunciation, but that will pass.
Will my dentures need to be replaced? As we age, our mouth tissues change. Over time, your dentures may need to be repositioned, realigned, or entirely remade. Never make changes to your appliance; contact your dentist if something doesn’t seem right.
How do I care for my dentures? To protect your dental appliance, handle the denture with care. When you take the device out, always store it safely in its case. Gently clean your dentures with mild soap and water to remove bacteria. Make sure to put the denture out of reach from small children or pets.
Do I still need to brush if I have dentures? Absolutely. Your gums still need proper oral care, so brush them twice daily to keep the tissue healthy.
We offer dentures at our Sicklerville dental office
If you have severely damaged, diseased or injured teeth, your dentist may recommend crown and bridge treatment. A crown is a dental restoration that fully covers a tooth and becomes the tooth’s new outer surface. A bridge is also a dental restoration that is anchored to natural teeth. However, a bridge replaces and fills the gap left by multiple missing teeth. Both crowns and bridges are made from a variety of materials and can be matched to the color of your natural teeth. Unlike removable dental devices like dentures, crowns and bridges are permanently affixed to existing teeth or implants allowing them to look and function similarly to natural teeth.
In addition to restored function and appearance, crowns and bridges offer a host of additional benefits including:
Dental crowns protect and strengthen the natural tooth, helping you to avoid extraction.
Crowns are the final step in root canal treatment, protecting the tooth from bacteria that could re-infect the treated tooth.
Crowns and bridges restore missing teeth and support the remaining teeth.
Your natural bite is restored and maintained with crown and bridge treatment.
Placement of crowns and bridges improve your speech, smile and chewing function.
Adjacent teeth are prevented from shifting and tilting with crown and bridge treatment.
Crowns and bridges are long-lasting, predictable and durable.
Placement of crowns and bridges is quick and can usually be completed in as little as two appointments.
Alternatives to crown and bridgework, like dental implants, are usually more invasive requiring surgery and possibly bone grafting to place the implant.
Consult with your dentist to find out more about the advantages of crowns and bridges and how they can help to restore your healthy smile.
We look forward to seeing you in our Sicklerville dental office
