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78% of people in the United States aren’t happy with their teeth and one of the most common reasons for that has to do with discolored or stained teeth. Fortunately, fixing discolored teeth isn’t an issue and dentists can help. You can either decide to whiten your teeth professionally by seeking the services of your dentist in Delaware, Ohio, or you can decide to whiten your teeth at home.

But is there any real difference between DIY and professional teeth whitening? What will give you the best and longest-lasting results? Keep reading and learn more about your teeth whitening options below.

DIY Teeth Whitening Options

The best way to keep your teeth white is to keep them from getting stained in the first place. You can do this by prioritizing dental care. For example, some substances are more likely to stain your teeth than others such as coffee or red wine.

If you drink these beverages often and don’t brush your teeth after, you shouldn’t be surprised that your teeth will eventually turn a shade of brown or yellow. Does this mean that you have to give up on food and drinks with dark substances?

Not at all! All you have to do is make sure to brush your teeth after eating or drinking. That way, the pigment from these substances won’t stain your tooth enamel and instead will be scrubbed away by your toothbrush.

But what should you do if you already have discolored teeth? In that case, there are several ways you can try to whiten your teeth at home. For example, many people find that brushing your teeth with a whitening toothpaste can be quite an effective option.

The Details

You might not see significant results right away when brushing your teeth with a whitening toothpaste. However, after doing it a few times over a few days, you will start to notice that your teeth will be much whiter than before. However, the use of whitening toothpastes only remove surface stains.

If you don’t obtain satisfactory whitening results with whitening toothpastes alone, you may also have intrinsic (internal) stains. The use of over-the-counter (OTC) whitening gels can be a first step in further whitening your teeth. The efficacy of these products is somewhat limited due to them being not as strong as our professional grade whitening products. But, if you are new to whitening this may be a good place to start.

If you really want to get white teeth, you’ll have to go to a professional.

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Professional Teeth Whitening Options

In general, professional teeth whitening options are much better than DIY and OTC alternatives for several reasons. For one, professional teeth whitening services are much safer than the kind of methods you can try at home. You won’t have to worry about damaging your tooth enamel.

Instead, you can focus on leaving the dentist’s office with a bright white smile. This is not to mention that professional whitening services can make your teeth much whiter than any kind of toothpaste or OTC gel. The main way dentists whiten teeth is to use a prescription strength gel made of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide.

The concentration of peroxide in this gel is very high, so it can make your teeth several shades lighter in a short period of time. The whitening procedure is also very simple and painless. Your dentist will first isolate your teeth.

This is important so the whitening gel doesn’t interact with your gums or any other part of your mouth except for your teeth. Then, the dentist will cover your teeth with the whitening gel and let it sit for a few minutes at a time, usually no more than 30 minutes, and this process will be repeated several times.

Whitening Gel

To activate the gel, the dentist will also shine a special light on your teeth. This part of the procedure should not be painful and the only thing you need to do is keep your mouth open. While the gel sits on your teeth, it will slowly whiten the internal stains in your enamel.

When the procedure is done, your dentist will rinse off the whitening gel and you will be able to admire the results of your fresh, white smile. Because professional whitening services provide such great results, you only need to get your teeth whitened once or twice a year.

After you get your teeth whitened, you should be careful to keep them white. This means that you should always brush your teeth after eating or drinking anything, especially substances that contain strong pigments.

That way, you won’t have to worry about these substances leaving stains on your tooth enamel.

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Advanced Dentistry and Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening plays a big part in advanced dentistry. While there are certainly ways you can whiten your teeth at home, they are often not very effective and they may even damage your tooth enamel. Professional teeth whitening, on the other hand, is very safe and much more effective.

By using a whitening gel, your dentist can make your enamel several shades lighter in no time. To learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us here.

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