The Americans have long been whitening their teeth and the films and TV series coming out of Hollywood have been selling the charm of the perfect sparkling smile for decades. More recently, the desire to have brighter, whiter teeth has spread to Europe and in Marbella many people are looking for different ways to do it.
Teeth whitening is used to remove stains or yellow discolouration of the enamel caused by smoking, drinking a lot of coffee, tea and red wine, not cleaning your teeth properly and also simply aging. They target the stain particles from food and drink in the enamel, either by removing them with abrasive particles such as those in whitening toothpastes or bleaching with hydrogen peroxide or similar substances.
The best effects can be gained with the whitening procedures offered in dental clinics and this is also very safe, as the procedures are implemented and supervised by medical professionals. At our central Marbella dental clinic, we are able to use the latest whitening technology, which combine effective products, as well as things to speed up the process such as lasers. Very importantly, we can also look at why you need your teeth whitened, help solve any underlying issues before the procedure and make the right choice for your individual circumstances and teeth.
The first step of teeth whitening is a thorough clean and a check for cavities or any issues which may reduce the success of the procedure. Following that we will start the procedure, our normal methods includes a home whitening kit plus practice whitening and we expect you to need between 2 or 3 sessions in the practice, plus 1-2 weeks using the home kit. Of course results vary, but you should expect between 2 and 3 shades lighter with this method.
If you choose to try home tooth whitening, there are a range of options from whitening toothpaste and chewing gum to home whitening kits. However, there are some concerns on how these home-use whitening systems can affect your teeth and they can do damage if instructions are not correctly followed. Our advice is to take care with at home whitening kits, do your research, follow the guidelines, be patient and don’t expect immediate effects.
Prevention is always better than cure, so if you start to see signs of discolouration, cut down on staining substances such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, red wine and cola and drink water in between each drink, as well as brushing afterwards if possible. You can use whitening toothpaste to both prevent and reduce signs of staining at the early stages and you should floss and generally take extra care of oral hygiene to remove plaque which attracts stains. There’s some excellent advice from Colgate in their Oral Care Centre all about keeping teeth white which we recommend if you wish to find out more.
Please feel free to pop in and see us at MarDenta to discuss teeth whitening in Marbella and have a check-up to make sure that whitening would work for you. Make an appointment…