Bleaching: Teeth whitening at the dentist

Are you looking for a dental practice to have your teeth whitened professionally? Teeth do not always have the desired uniform light color, but are darkly discolored. On one hand, tooth color is genetic and determined by aging processes, on the other hand, tooth discoloration often occurs with heavy consumption of coffee, tea, red wine, tobacco (smoking) and others. A tooth can also die as a result of a tooth accident and then turn dark.

In these cases, the original, lighter color of the teeth can be restored with a so-called bleaching procedure by your dentists in Zug. Depending on the patient’s needs, bleaching can lighten individual teeth or the entire set of teeth.

Whitening methods

There are basically three methods to choose from for bleaching your teeth. The best way to clarify which method and which remedy is best for your teeth is in a personal consultation with your dentist-team. It is important that you finally have the bright white smile that you want!

Homebleaching

With so-called home bleaching, the patient is given a plastic splint that is filled with a bleaching gel and should be worn at home for a certain period of time. The bleaching gel is refilled by the patient himself at regular intervals in the splint and thus leads to a gradual whitening of the teeth.

Power / In-office bleaching

In the so-called power or in-office bleaching, the affected teeth are treated in our dental practice with a particularly effective bleaching gel and the effect is additionally intensified by lighting with a special LED lamp. This leads to an immediate whitening of the teeth, which increases over the course of a few days.

Whitening of single teeth

To whiten a single tooth, the so-called internal bleaching (also called “walking bleach” method) is usually used: a single tooth can be filled with the bleaching gel if it has previously been root canal treated. The bleaching agent remains in the tooth for a few days. This method has given the walking bleach technique its name: the patients “walk” around with the bleach for a while.

How long do teeth stay bright after bleaching?

The sustainability of bleaching by the dentist depends a lot on the patients, their consumption habits and their personal dental hygiene. If teeth had become darkly discolored due to consumables such as coffee, tea, read wine, tobacco and so on, the patient should try to limit consumption in order to minimize the risk of discoloration again. The more the patient does without consumption of the mentioned, the longer his teeth will stay bright. However, teeth whitening can be repeated regularly if necessary.

When is bleaching at the dentist an option?

There are some requirements for teeth whitening at the dentist: especially good oral hygiene and healthy teeth.

Before a bleaching measure by your dentist, all the teeth will be examined and advice is given to the patient on the overall dental health. In the case of diseased teeth or attacked gums, your dentist-team will first suggest an appropriate treatment before initiating the bleaching. Also in the case of dental replacements, the patient must be informed that crowns or bridges, but also fillings in the visible area cannot be bleached as easily as natural teeth. In order to get these restorations “white again”, they may have to be replaced after the teeth have been bleached.

If necessary, a thorough teeth cleaning is performed before bleaching in order to remove all obstructive deposits such as plaque and tartar from the teeth. If other dental treatments are necessary before teeth whitening, these will also be carried out as discussed.

Basically, only healthy teeth are bleached. Teeth whitening is a cosmetic procedure that must give priority to medically necessary treatments (such as tooth decay removal etc.).

Tooth bleaching makes no sense at all for children and we therefore do not offer this treatment for them.

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Teeth bleaching: risks or side effects?

In most cases, patients do not feel any discomfort after teeth whitening. Serious health risks exist only for allergy sufferers who may react to the bleaching agent. However, this is extremely rare. If you have health concerns, please contact your dentists in Zug anytime.

However, the following side effects may always occur with bleaching:

Unmasking

Natural, structural-related tooth stains may become more visible when the tooth is whitened. Before that, the stains on the tooth enamel were concealed by the dark discoloration. This process is called “unmasking”.

Hypersensitivity

In some cases teeth may react more sensitive to certain stimuli (especially to cold) after bleaching. However, this hypersensitivity usually lasts only for a few days. Until then, it can be prevented by avoiding certain foods such as cold drinks, ice cream etc. and using a desensitizing toothpaste.

Visible fillings

As mentioned before, fillings cannot be whitened as easily as teeth. After bleaching, these fillings, resp. a possible color difference may be (more) noticeable. This is particularly the case with older filling materials made of plastics. If necessary, the disturbing fillings can be replaced with new, resp. lighter tooth-colored fillings.

“Bleaching home remedies”: do they work?

Be careful with dubious promises about “teeth whitening”. Many are myths, such as chewing cabbage or baking soda to whiten teeth. Although this is harmless to health, the lightening effect of these agents is negligible and is hardly or not at all noticeable to the human eye. Otherwise, the following applies: it is better to be skeptical about tips that you find on the internet and elsewhere. Some of these “life hacks” are actually dangerous!

There are many products in specialist shops with which customers are said to be able to bleach their teeth themselves at home. However, these over-the-counter brighteners are not considered medical, but cosmetic products and therefore may not exceed a certain limit of bleaching agent content. Their bleaching effect is therefore only minimal. “Brightening” toothpastes can remove superficial discolorations (with the help of abrasive micro-components) – but they do not have a brightening effect, like professional dentist bleaching. Quite the opposite: the aggressive cleaning particles in such toothpastes can even damage teeth and gums in the long term by wearing them down to an above-average extent.

Therefore, if you want to whiten your teeth professionally and without damaging them, you should better speak to your dentist-team!

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For a bright & healthy smile!

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Bleaching: Teeth whitening at the dentist

Whitening methods

How long do teeth stay bright after bleaching?

When is bleaching at the dentist an option?

Teeth bleaching: risks or side effects?

“Bleaching home remedies”: do they work?

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