Teeth Whitening

One of our most popular cosmetic dental treatments is teeth whitening. Teeth whitening can effectively brighten teeth stained or darkened by food, tobacco use, age, injury, or other causes.

Over time, your teeth can go from white to not-so-bright for several reasons:

Food and Drink
Coffee, tea, and red wine are some major staining culprits. What do they have in common? Intense color pigments called chromogens that attach to the white, outer part of your tooth enamel.

Tobacco Use
Two chemicals found in tobacco create stubborn stains: Tar and nicotine. Tar is naturally dark. Nicotine is colorless until it’s mixed with oxygen. Then, it turns into a yellowish, surface-staining substance.

Age
Below the hard, white outer shell of your teeth enamel is a softer area called dentin. Over time, the outer enamel layer gets thinner with brushing and more of the yellowish dentin shows through.

Trauma
If you’ve been hit in the mouth, your tooth may change color because it reacts to an injury by laying down more dentin, which is a darker layer under the enamel.

Medications
Tooth darkening can be a side effect of certain antihistamines, antipsychotics, and high blood pressure medications. Young children who are exposed to antibiotics when their teeth are forming (either in the womb or as a baby) may have discoloration of their adult teeth later in life. Chemotherapy and head and neck radiation can also darken teeth.

Whitening treatments aim to revitalize the teeth’ luster and brightness through chemical agents such as hydrogen peroxide, and may or may not include the use of focused lamps or lasers to speed up the process.

At Island Dental Associates you can achieve a bright, healthy smile aesthetic fast. Request a Teeth Whitening Appointment today.