TEETH WHITENING
Drinks and foods that contain pigmentation (e.g. coffee, tea, blueberries and beetroot), as well as smoking and taken medications, can cause tooth color to darken. Throughout life, teeth become darker due to enamel wear because tooth bone which is of a yellowish color and situated below enamel (dentin), becomes more visible.
Teeth whitening can be beneficial if the patient wants to have brighter teeth.
Only natural teeth can be whitened. Fillings and crowns won’t change color during a whitening procedure. Every single tooth will be evaluated before the whitening: all cavities must be treated and plaque and calculus must be removed. It’s difficult to give an exact estimation for how much whiter the tooth will become because the causes of tooth coloration are different.
Teeth whitening can be performed either at a dental clinic or at home.
1. ZOOM-whitening at the dental clinic
First, teeth will be cleaned with prophylactic paste during this whitening procedure. After that, gums will be covered with liquid cofferdam (gum protection gel) to prevent the whitening gel from pouring from the tooth surface onto gums. After protecting all the mucosal tissue, the whitening gel will be applied to teeth and activated with special light rays from the Zoom lamp. This procedure takes 15 minutes and can be repeated up to 4 times. At the end of procedure, the gel and the gum protector will be removed. The total time for the whole procedure is 1.5-2 hours.
2. Whitening at home with custom whitening trays
Trays will be produced in dental laboratory based on the impressions taken from the patient’s teeth. A tray is a custom-made, soft plastic form, which will be fitted onto the teeth after filling it with whitening gel. Trays with gel must be worn at night. (Gel is active for 8-10 hours).
3. Single non-vital tooth whitening
Sometimes, as time passes, a tooth may darken after a root canal treatment. If the color of only a single tooth has changed in the dental arch, the above-mentioned teeth whitening procedures won’t be effective. In this case, a small cavity will be drilled into palatal or lingual surface of the tooth, old filling will be removed and a special whitening gel will be injected into the tooth. The created cavity will be closed with a temporary filling and the procedure will be repeated every 3-5 days until the desired result is achieved.
4. Air-Flow teeth cleaning treatment and pearl whitening system
The Air-Flow cleaning treatment and pearl whitening procedure will be performed at the dental clinic. A mixture of air, jet water and sodium bicarbonate has an impact on the teeth during the Air-Flow teeth cleaning treatment. This treatment cleans pigmentation from the teeth, and even spots which are difficult to access, like very tight contact points, will be thoroughly cleaned during this treatment. (However, calculus must be removed beforehand). The Air-Flow cleaning treatment will significantly improve tooth brightness and cleanness. It is recommended to avoid eating, drinking and smoking for 2 hours after the Air-Flow and pearl whitening treatment because the normal protection layer of the teeth will be removed during these procedures and will be restored only 2 hours later. It is recommended that 1-2 cleaning procedures are done per year to maintain results.