Monday, January 8, 2007

You don't need to spend $1200 per tooth for a whiter smile


Visiting a professional will be more expensive, and truth is most of the methods accessible to Dentists, such as Toothpastes and Bleaching-kits, are accessible to the common man via the internet, mail-order and even over the counter from drug-stores and supermarkets. The single exception would be in the instance where you opted for structural alterations to your teeth, like Porcelain Veneers or Bonding - which actually modify the shape and size of your teeth. These practices can cost you anywhere from $300 - $1200 for each tooth, making them an option that isn't instantly available to everyone.

For a lot less money, and without making any reverseless structural modifications to your teeth, we have remaining the solutions of Toothpastes, Whitening Strips and Bleaching systems. The single procedure that rises to the top as being the most effective in relation to cost is Bleaching. Bleaching sounds alarming, I mean putting bleach in your mouth does not sound like the brightest of all ideas, but the reality is that this technique has been used for many years and history tells us that it is very safe. The ADHA actually suggests that "Bleaching is effective in lightening most stains caused by age, tobacco, coffee, and tea. Based on clinical studies, 96 percent of patients with these kinds of stains experience some lightening effect".

Before we take an upclose look at Bleaching methods, we'll breeze over the less-effectual techniques of teeth whitening (Whitening Toothpastes and Whitening Strips).

Whitening Toothpastes:
Some people demonstrate a slight improvement in brightness when they use Whitening Toothpastes, but because a Toothpaste isn't exposed to your teeth for very long it isn't able to penetrate deep enough to have much effect. Because whitening Toothpastes are exposed to the entire mouth, they simply cannot include much of the targeted chemical ingredients required to oxidize and cleanse the enamel.

Whitening Strips:
Whitening strips do actually work, but because they cannot get into all the nooks and crannies and gaps between teeth, the results can sometimes be less desirable than anticipated. Whitening Strips are thin, flexible pieces of plastic that have been coated on one side with a thin film of hydrogen-Peroxide bleach (normally 6-10% strength).

Toothpastes and Whitening Strips do display some effect, but in actuality they offer nothing like the capabilities of using a Peroxide-based Bleaching system. There are so many differing Bleaching techniques available today that you could literally write a book on the topic. As an overview, the methods can be broken into 2 main groups: (i) DIY kits (ii) Professionally Administered Bleaching.

DIY Bleaching Kits:
A good bleaching kit will use a Peroxide gel that has around 22% Peroxide (not too weak, not too strong) and won't be full of useless fillers and flavors. A strong bleaching gel can cause teeth sensitivity, and so can a weak gel if it is left in your mouth for too long, so a moderate strength bleaching gel is ideal.

Professionally Administered Bleaching:
Some professionally administered techniques use a new technology where a special blue light is used to enhance the effectiveness of the gel. Professionally administered bleaching typically provides faster results, but it comes at a price.

In days of old, Teeth Whitening was a term that was strictly related to treatment you could acquire only from your Dentist. But that has differed, because now you have many altenatives. Teeth Whitening is a massive market and new methods are coming to the fore constantly.

Whitening Strips normally demonstrate blotchy results because they concentrate solely on the face of the teeth and fail to delve into the gaps and cracks between teeth. Whitening Toothpastes do work, but the active ingredient is weak, and is not administered to your teeth for enough time to deliver fast results. These approaches have shown subtle but at times differentiated effects, and if you're Okay with that, you will fork out less money.

Porcelain Veneers and Bonding are exceptional options, but when you contemplate the cost of between $300 and $1200 for each tooth, most of us basically cannot afford this approach. Add to that the fact that your teeth are going to be filed down, and reshaped irreversibly - this is certainly not an alternative for the faint-hearted.

That leaves Bleaching. This procedure is both price-sensitive and extremely effective. You get consistently white teeth, it does not take too long to administer and you do not need to undergo any structural alterations to your teeth. But the most attractive part of this technique is that you can choose the approach to happen in the solace of your own home, or you can have it administered by a professional.

In the end, you want a system that results in whiter and brighter teeth, you want consistence and you do not want to re-mortgage the house to pay for your new white teeth.

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