Why We All Want Whiter Teeth

So what is the reason behind so many people wanting whiter, healthier-looking smiles?  What do whiter teeth and a whiter smile do for people?

Many people have greater confidence when they have a whiter smile.  A great smile can be a real confidence booster and many people are self-conscious about how clean their teeth appear to others.  Most pile smile all the time and we just unconsciously feel that a whiter smile is better.

This confidence and other people’s impressions are linked to hygiene.  While whiter teeth don’t necessarily mean better hygiene, we subconsciously equate it with that, so people with whiter teeth are generally seen as “cleaner.”  Even people who brush regularly and are otherwise well groomed can feel less clean because their smile isn’t as white as they’d like.

Surveys have also shown that whiter teeth are tied with the impression of age.  The same person, one with stained teeth and the other with a whiter smile, will be judged at different ages by observers with the whiter teeth winning out as a younger impression.

This impression ties in with sexual attraction as well.  The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry did a study that showed that 85% of adults said an unattractive smile makes the opposite sex less appealing.  It’s likely that this ties in with the confidence and cleanliness issues above.  Whiter teeth do make for better lovers, apparently–at least through the impressions people gave.

Most teeth whitening methods are considered safe if they’ve been approved by the American Dental Association.  While there are a lot to choose from, that’s because a whiter smile can mean a happier, more confident you.

The Reason Your Teeth Get Discolored

There are a lot of reasons for your teeth to get stained or discolored.  Tooth staining happens from a lot of the things we do in our lives and tooth discoloration can come from some of the most unlikely-seeming sources too.

Foods that we eat can stain our teeth, especially those with heavy color pigments in them like soy sauce, some vinegars, most berries, and more.  Citrus and acidic foods can loosen the “caps” that cover the pores in the teeth, causing them to more easily take stains.

Things we drink, like coffee and tea, can also be the reason behind teeth discoloration.  Red wine, some soft drinks, juices from dark fruits, and more are all culprits here.

In fact, a good rule of thumb on tooth staining is that if whatever you’re eating or drinking will make you flinch when it’s rubbed or poured on a white t-shirt, it probably causes tooth discoloration too.

Other habits we put in our mouths like smoking, chewing tobacco, and even chewing gum can cause teeth discoloration.  With tobacco, the more you use it, the deeper the stain until it eventually becomes permanent.

Regular dental hygiene like brushing and flossing is important to keeping tooth staining at a minimum, of course, but over doing it can be just as bad.  Over brushing is often one of the most common reasons that many people have teeth discoloration.  The brushing itself doesn’t cause staining, but it weakens the enamel, allowing stains to more easily set in.

Other factors in tooth staining problems can be medications, diseases that cause minerals to leach out of the body or not be absorbed nutritionally, and radiation (X-rays and chemo therapy) are all things that can cause tooth discoloration in patients.

Finally, genetics plays a role too.  Some people are just born with naturally white teeth, just as others are born with straight or crooked ones and still others are born with an apparent inability to get cavities.

All in all, though, most teeth discoloration and staining can be prevented if you know what causes it.

Zoom Professional Teeth Whitening – Good and Bad

If you’re looking for professional teeth whitening, it’s likely that you’ve talked to a dentist or seen information on the new Zoom (the latest is “Zoom 2″) teeth whitening system.

The Zoom system is basically an in-office bleaching, but it is much faster and uses a whitening gel agent whose bleach is activated by a light.  The agent is much stronger than what you can buy off the shelf or even the normal tray whitening systems that are the usual teeth whitening setups used by people.  Because it’s stronger, the agent with Zoom often works faster and better.

The gel is applied directly to your teeth, avoiding your gums and sensitive spots.  A special frequency light is then shone on your teeth for a specific amount of time (just a few minutes), activating the gel and causing the bleaching action to begin.  This professional teeth whitening system often has fast results, with many teeth whitening clients having the Zoom treatment done over a lunch hour.

The treatment usually takes less than 45 minutes in total.

The biggest advantage to professional teeth whitening systems like Zoom is that it’s done in a dentist’s office where the application, use, and entire treatment can be controlled.  This means the right amount of bleach, the right length of treatment, and the right intervals can be used to maximize the teeth whitening regimen.

The down side, of course, is that it’s more expensive.  Because it’s faster, though, Zoom is often cheaper than the other professional teeth whitening alternatives and generally safer and nearly as effective as even the best of them.

This is important, since most dental plans don’t cover whitening and consider it cosmetic.  So what you pay matters to you.

Most Zoom patients who do normal at-home cleaning (brushing, flossing, etc.) only require Zoom treatments once a year or so to stay white and bright.

Natural Teeth Whitening Methods

All over the Internet, you’ll see ads proclaiming the “natural” and “safe’ and “cheap” remedies for whitening your teeth.  They’re everywhere and usually available “free” – after you buy a book or a quick guide or some other product, of course.

The truth is, some remedies actually work while others are extremely dangerous to good oral health.  Lemon juice, often touted as a teeth whitening method, is actually extremely detrimental to your teeth, leeching calcium from them and causing long-term harm.  Most fruit juices, especially citrics, in fact have this same property and should be avoided.

Natural whitening methods that do work are simpler than many would like to think.  One such natural teeth whitening method is the use of wood ash.  It’s not the tastiest or prettiest way to try to whiten your teeth and it’s definitely one of the less pleasant of the natural whitening methods.

The ash of hardwoods (yep, the leftovers from the fireplace) contain potassium hydroxide, one of the prime ingredients in over the counter and in-office dental soaks (tray teeth whitening) methods.  The natural method works, if you don’t do it too often (it could cause sensitivity), but it’s not exactly fun.  It’s ashes, after all.

Another method often mentioned for natural teeth whitening is strawberry juice.  This is not really adviseable for teeth whitening, though it does work.  The problem is that the sugars and acids from the strawberries can cause erosion of the enamel, which is definitely not good.  If used sparingly and thoroughly brushed and cleaned away with regular toothpaste, though, this natural whitening method can work.  It’s a lot of trouble, though, to save $10.

Finally, the often-touted and old faithful baking soda is mentioned as a natural whitening method.  In reality, baking soda does little for teeth whitening, but it does thoroughly clean teeth.  It’s abrasive, so using too much is a bad thing, but if you just wet your toothbrush and dip the end of the bristles into the baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda), it’ll do.  Most toothpastes contain some amount of baking soda, in fact.

Teeth Whitening Through Laser – Quick vs. Lasting

There are several laser tooth whitening systems in use in the dentists’ office.  Some are “pulse” lasers, some are broad spectrum, some are gel activators.  There are several methods and the one your dentist uses to do teeth whitening will depend on what’s available and what is to be done to whiten your teeth.

Fast laser treatments have been all the rage in teeth whitening, but new studies are showing that while it’s a faster treatment than in-clinic soaking (tray bleaching), it’s not necessarily better.  Or as good, even.

What’s being found is that the tooth whitening is not necessarily a bleaching, as previously though, but is actually a dehydration of the teeth from the intense light of the laser.  This dehydration leads to whitening, of course, but the laser tooth whitening can fade quickly as the teeth rehydrate after a few days.  Further questions of what it might be doing to affect enamel are also being raised.

Here’s why that is: bleach gel is usually applied to the teeth and then the laser is used to “burn off” the gel, theoretically forcing it into the teeth through heat.  In reality, most of the gel evaporates into the air, doing nothing to aid tooth whitening.  Some of it does, of course, get forced into the teeth as well.

The problem is that in most cases, that bleach is not enough and is not there long enough to do anything beyond a slim surface whitening.  The deeper coloration of the teeth (call the intrinsic coloration) is unchanged.  Further, the bleaching is so light it may not have any visual effect at all.

Most of the laser tooth whitening effect on many teeth appears to be the forcing of water from the teeth, dehydrating them.  This naturally lends a whiteness, but this new tooth whitening lasts only a few days while the teeth recover.

This is why the longer tray whitening methods seem to have a longer-lasting effect, though it is slower to appear.