Santa Barbara Teeth Whitening

Have you ever been jealous of someone who had a perfect, attention grabbing smile? If so, then don't worry- you are definitely not alone. It has been estimated that around ten million Americans spend almost two billion dollars a year on teeth whitening treatments and services at a Santa Barbara dentistry office. As a matter of fact, these techniques have become the most common procedure done by cosmetic dentists in Santa Barbara. Teeth whitening is common, but not everyone understands how it works. Here's a rundown.

Why People Need It

Before we discuss how teeth whitening works, let's talk about how people come to require it in the first place. Shouldn't brushing your teeth suffice? Unfortunately, it doesn't. You see, each one of your teeth is comprised of dentin (located inside the tooth) and enamel (located outside the tooth). These are your body's natural way of protecting your teeth. Whenever we put things in our mouth, such as coffee, smoke and food, we slowly but surely wear away these protective barriers.

What Can You Do

The natural people to turn to are dentists. Santa Barbara professionals can go in and clean away all of the damage by using a variety of techniques. If you don't tend to your stained teeth, foreign material can get lodged inside of the enamel.

Once this occurs, staining agents run ramped and break down the tooth until it no longer exudes its natural color. While these stains are relatively harmless, they don't look attractive which is why so many people opt to have them cleaned professionally.

Teeth Whiteners

Teeth whiteners contain bleaching chemicals which go deep down into the tooth and offset any negative chemical reactions that cause staining. Once this happens, the staining compounds inside of your teeth no longer have the power to create that “stain-like” appearance.

The majority of teeth whiteners offered by Santa Barbara teeth whitening dentists today contain two important chemicals: hydrogen peroxide (the same ingredient in hair bleach) and carbamide peroxide. These are designed to keep your teeth white and also serve as anti-stain agents who fight decomposition of productive chemicals.

Dental Whitening

Santa Barbara teeth whitening experts use controlled amounts of the chemicals and administer them to patients. If you have any cavities or cracked teeth, they will likely need to take care of these first before they are able to whiten them.

Most in-office systems use 15 to 35 percent hydrogen peroxide gels, sometimes coupled with a high intensity light to expedite the bleaching chemical reaction. Once the whitening process begins, the dentist places hydrogen peroxide on the stained teeth for several minutes. It sticks because they apply it in a paste like form. He or she keeps it there for several minutes then rinses if off. This process can be done several times, depending on the severity of the stain. As a general rule of thumb, it only takes about 40-minutes to improve your teeth by six shades of whitening so the entire process doesn't take that long.