Three Steps To Take Before Bleaching Your Teeth
Posted on: 29 December 2016
Some dental bleaching products can be used at home, but this doesn't mean that you should just grab one of them and bleach your teeth. Before heading to the chemist for teeth-whitening products, there are a few preparatory steps to take first. You need to know whether the product is right for your type of discoloration, whether your teeth can be whitened or if there are other preparatory steps to take:
Know Why Your Teeth Are Discolored
The first thing is to find out what discolored your teeth since the cause of the discoloration determines the whitening technique. For example, whitening strips may work on coffee stains (extrinsic stains), but not on dried blood inside the teeth (intrinsic stains).
Do you smoke, drink lots of coffee, have a dental disease or have a cracked tooth? Those are some of the common causes of teeth discoloration. It may not be easy to know the cause of discoloration if you weren't born with it; you may need the assistance of a dentist to help you with the diagnosis.
Find Out If You Have a Dental Problem
The second thing is to know whether you have a dental problem that may complicate your bleaching treatment. If that's the case, then the problem must be sorted out first before the whitening session. For example, if you have a cracked tooth, it needs to be covered up first because it may be painful during the bleaching process. If you have sensitive teeth, then you need to desensitize it first before the bleaching process. Since bleaching causes teeth sensitivity, your teeth may be oversensitive at the end of the bleaching if they were sensitive before the treatment.
Find Out If You Are Pregnant
Lastly, it's advisable to find out if you are pregnant before bleaching your teeth. The use of bleaching products isn't advisable for those who are expectant. There is always a danger of swallowing the bleaching agent (peroxide), which hasn't be proven to be safe for unborn babies. It's advisable to err on the side of caution and delay your whitening ambitions; after all, the whitening treatment is purely for cosmetic purposes; you shouldn't endanger your baby's life for cosmetic reasons.
As you can see, with dental bleaching, even if you aren't planning to get your teeth whitened by a dentist, it's wise to consult one first. The dentist will confirm whether you are a good candidate for teeth whitening and advise you on how to go about it. Try contacting a company like Graylyn Dental to ask more questions about teeth whitening.
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