DENVER, Colo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — The captivating smile. Getting one is an 11-billion-dollar industry. But which products do the job and which ones are duds? Martie salt shows us.
For 18-year-old Aubrey Clear, the journey toward a dazzling smiling didn’t always leave her feeling her brightest.
She told Ivanhoe, “I did a set of whitening strips a couple times and those worked, but they weren’t great. The whitening pen I was not impressed with.”
Keith Clear, DDS, MS, prosthodontist at Clear Prosthodontics, said, “If you went back 20 years you couldn’t find anybody that had these shades, even somebody who was super healthy and didn’t do anything to darken the teeth at all.”
Clear says the obsession with whiter teeth can be seen in the new shades manufacturers have added to the whitening spectrum over the past few years.
“And they could come up with new colors that have never even been on the planet before, and now we could add these colors on and this is what people sometimes think natural, healthy teeth look like, but really, these are colors that haven’t existed before. These were healthy colors,” he said.
One key to a better, whiter smile is how long the product stays in contact with your teeth. So, whitening pens aren’t nearly as effective as whitening strips.
“These actually work quite well and people can get a very good bleaching job using white strips, it’s just you have to do it over and over again, maybe 60 different applications,” Clear told Ivanhoe.
Bleaching tray products are the closest thing to what the dentist uses.
“But these trays are somewhat generic, they’re somewhat a few sizes fits most people, so that’s where it’s going to be the frustrating portion is just trying to get the gel to stay on the teeth in a way that’s comfortable so you can have it on your teeth long enough to get a result,” said Clear.
Products with hydrogen peroxide yield fast results but also fade fast. Carbamide peroxide takes longer, but lasts longer and kits with the blue light?
“This is essentially just a flashlight with some blue cellophane on it,” Clear explained.
Toothpastes are “whitening” products so they’ll remove surface stains, but they won’t bleach your teeth. For people with sensitive teeth, doctor clear recommends using a toothpaste like Sensodyne for one or two weeks before you start bleaching. And only bleach every other day, instead of every day, and he definitely does not recommend the use of activated charcoal to lighten teeth.
Contributors to this news report include: Jessica Sanchez, Field Producer; Rusty Reed, Videographer; and Brent Sucher, Editor.
TEETH WHITENING: WHAT WORKS, WHAT’S A WASTE?
REPORT #2360
BACKGROUND: There are a number of reasons a person’s teeth can become darker:
Food and drink: Beverages like coffee, tea and red wine all have chromogens, or strong color pigments, that attach to the enamel on your teeth.
Tobacco use: Tar and nicotine are the two chemicals found in tobacco that cause staining on your teeth. Tar is a naturally dark chemical, however nicotine is colorless until it’s mixed with oxygen.
Age: Underneath the enamel on your teeth is a softer area called dentin, which is a yellowish color. The enamel layers gets thinner over time with brushing and the yellow tinted dentin shows through.
Trauma: Your teeth lay down more dentin if you’ve been hit in the mouth.
Medications: With some antihistamines, antipsychotics and high blood pressure medications, darkening teeth can be a side effect. And if young children are exposed to antibiotics, including tetracycline and doxycycline, either as a baby or in the womb, they may have discolored teeth in their adult years as a result.
The general process of teeth whitening includes one of two bleaches, hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, which breaks up the stains into small pieces making the color less concentrated and your teeth brighter.
(Source: http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/w/whitening)
MORE TIPS FROM DOCTOR CLEAR:
- it is difficult when using the pen type applicators not to get the material in other areas of the mouth like gum tissues, cheeks or tongue
- The better fitting the tray, the better the result. When the tray fits well, less bleaching material is used and less is wasted. Also, if the tray fits well, less leaks out and gets in locations where it does not belong.
- I also recommend bleaching one arch (as an example, the UPPER teeth, for TWO weeks) first and use the lower teeth to compare. Then I recommend bleaching the lower teeth to match the upper teeth.
THE CHARCOAL METHOD: When asked about the charcoal method Dr. Clear responded, “Activated charcoal is what is being touted as a wonderful “natural” way to lighten teeth, especially for those who are paranoid about the ingredient; fluoride. It is abrasive, and its particulate size is not standardized or regulated. It could very well harm the enamel surface making the tooth surface dull, which is the exact opposite of what would be desired. It is also very messy. As a Prosthodontist, I do NOT recommend the use of activated charcoal as a method to lighten the color of teeth. At best it could remove surface stains ONLY and there are many choices in “whitening toothpastes” that would be more suitable and have been tested in laboratories and in clinical situations. I understand the appeal of “natural” treatment modalities and the driving (but non-researched) force that is Pinterest and YouTube, however, I CANNOT recommend these home remedies that do not have qualified research saying that these are safe or worth doing.”
(Source: Dr. Clear)
* For More Information, Contact:
Keith E. Clear, DDS, MS Find your local prosthodontist:
Clear Prosthodontics www.gotoapro.org
720-502-3694
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