Why Are My Teeth Losing Their Whiteness?
White teeth are a desirable trait, but time, food stains, and other factors add up to create tooth discoloration. Read on to learn why your teeth are losing their whiteness.
About 14% of people in the United States scheduled a professional teeth whitening treatment at some point in their lives. Millions more use over-the-counter consumer solutions. Clearly, bright white smiles are something of an American obsession.
There’s nothing like the first impression that a brilliant smile makes. It’s a natural confidence booster, and choosing whitening is an investment in yourself. Visit the teeth whitening specialists at Metairie Village Dentistry, located in Metairie, Louisiana, to add a bright kick start to your smile. Proudly offering the Zoom! Whitening system, Dr. Lisa Wyatt and her team are ready to help you.
It’s easy to think of teeth as naturally white, but, in fact, they usually have a range of colors from light gray to yellow tints. They get darker, too, as you get older. Time also thins tooth enamel, revealing more of the yellow-colored dentin through an increasingly translucent layer.
Your teeth also bear the dulling effects of what you eat and drink. Delicious, bright berries, so good for you in other ways, leave behind superficial stains on your tooth enamel that linger even after brushing.
Coffee, cola, tea, and wine are beverages that cause stains over time as well. If you’re a smoker, you know how it stains your teeth. If you have more than one of these factors working against you, your smile will pay the price over time.
Dental office whitening is the best way to improve the brightness of your smile without resorting to caps or crowns. While there are many at-home whitening products available, those kits can’t match the strength of the bleaches used by Dr. Wyatt.
But keep in mind, at professional strength, bleaching agents can be harmful to teeth and gums if used improperly. Since consumer products need to be safe for everyone, therefore they use weak bleaches with short activity periods to prevent burning or etching.
Dr. Wyatt and her staff train extensively in using whitening products like Zoom!. Zoom! uses a light accelerator to speed your treatment. It also includes ingredients to protect tooth enamel and reduce temperature sensitivity, which is sometimes a temporary issue after certain whitening treatments.
While no teeth whitening system is permanent, you can extend the results of your treatment by avoiding the substances that cause enamel stains, having dental cleanings at 6-month intervals, and following up with home care products that support your whitening. Ask Dr. Wyatt about an oral care routine that keeps your smile bright.
Appointments with Metairie Village Dentistry are available online or by phone. Contact the office today to schedule your whitening appointment.
