BLEACHING
Teeth change color over time. The main causes of color change in the tooth;
- Aging,
- Smoking and tobacco use,
- Tea, coffee consumption,
- Consumption of colored and acidic foods,
- A group of antibiotics taken in the womb or early infancy
- Excessive fluoride intake,
- Inadequate daily oral care,
- Amalgam fillings and root canal treatment.
Whitening is applied to treat discoloration in the tooth. There are 2 different application methods of bleaching, office type and home type. In the home bleaching option, a special and personal bleaching tray is prepared for the patient, taking the patient’s mouth size. The whitening gel is put on the bleaching tray by the way, shown by dentist. The plate is placed in the mouth and kept for about 6-8 hours. This process, where the gel has a bleaching effect, is applied for 10-15 days. Depending on the staining of the tooth, the desired result can be obtained from the first week. During this time, colorful drinks and foods are avoided. The tray is often used at night.
Office type bleaching is a process that takes approximately 30-60 minutes with a special bleaching gel. Depending on the condition of the enamels, a second session may be required to complete the whitening process and give effective results. Results are obtained in a shorter time than home type whitening. It is easy and simple to apply. However, unlike home bleaching, cold hot sensitivity may be seen for a short time after the procedure.
Since bleaching is a process that can only be applied to natural teeth, porcelains cannot be bleached, so if there are prosthetic restorations especially in the anterior region, and if there will be a color difference between the restoration and teeth, the patient can be informed and if necessary, the restoration can be changed in the color of the newly obtained tooth.
The color of the tooth is personal and how much of the tooth color can be opened depends on the dentin bottom below. In order to remove the color change that occurs in the canal-treated teeth, a special bleaching drug is put inside the canal and the color of the tooth treated in the canal is whitened.
In the colorations that develop due to dental caries, the caries are cleaned first and the cleaned area is restored with a tooth-colored filler and the function and aesthetics are restored.
In cases such as tooth root infection, high risk of cracking and fracture and tenderness due to an untreated caries or broken tooth, the dentist may not find the whitening treatment appropriate.
Whitening is an aesthetic treatment that leaves a long lasting effect as long as daily oral care is observed. If the oral care and tooth cleaning of teeth with whitening is performed regularly, the life of the whitening process can be extended with a one-session maintenance process per year.
In order to get the desired result and prevent the teeth from being damaged, the dentist must be examined for the whitening process.
