This thought might have crossed your mind: “My teeth are yellowing.” You don’t need to worry because teeth yellowing is a natural process caused by at least three factors. The first factor is often extrinsic, such as the food you eat and activities like smoking, tobacco chewing and poor dental hygiene. The second includes medications, dental materials and genetics, while the last factor is aging. As you age, the enamel or the outer layer of your teeth wears away, which reveals the true pale yellow colour of your dentin.
The best answer to restore the bright white colour of your teeth is to have teeth whitening treatment. But before you do that, just like any other treatment, you MUST know what it is about and the options you have before having it.
Today, we will help you with a list of activities to avoid before doing teeth whitening either at a professional service or at your house. To get the best result, read about these 14 mistakes and consult with your dentist or call our professionals at 1300 757 641. You can also leave a message on our contact page.
The 14 mistakes to avoid are:
- Not consulting your dentist
- Not checking your physical condition
- Not knowing the risks
- Buying a low-quality, non-personalised home teeth whitening kit
- Using products that are not designed for teeth whitening
- Going to unqualified services
- Not cleaning your teeth first
- Not following the instructions
- Using more than recommended
- Using artificial teeth
- Not avoiding staining agents
- Not following aftercare instructions
- Treating teeth whitening as a one-time treatment
- Whitening too much
Not consulting your dentist
Your dentist knows your teeth better, perhaps than you. It’s always better to consult them before getting any oral treatment, including teeth whitening. They can check whether you have plaque, tooth decay, gum disease or other issues that could prevent you from getting the best result from teeth whitening products that you use.
Besides maintaining or improving oral health, many dentists also offer teeth whitening services. For aesthetic and safety reasons, getting a teeth whitening treatment in a dentist is better. If your dentist doesn’t provide it, you can always come to one of our offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast or Adelaide.
Not checking your physical condition
Another advantage to consulting your dentist is they can guide you on choosing the best treatment option. For instance, some kits are not suitable for people with sensitive teeth. But in our office, teeth whitening treatments are safe, even for those who have sensitive teeth.
If you are pregnant and a breastfeeding mother, your dentist will not recommend teeth whitening treatment. More than that, not all teeth whitening products are suitable for everyone. The hydrogen peroxide (the bleaching agent) is only effective in removing certain discolouration commonly caused by food, tobacco or natural aging.
If your teeth are becoming yellow because of medication or trauma, your dentist will likely give you alternatives. Upon reviewing your medical history, your dentist could give you internal bleaching (which is legally done by a dentist) to whiten your teeth if you had root canal treatments before.
Not knowing the risks
Knowing the risks from your dentist is the best thing you could do. Although it is undoubtedly safe to get teeth whitening treatment, your condition might be different. You might require professionals like us to perform the procedure.
It is normal for your teeth to be more sensitive to food temperature for up to 48 hours after the treatment. Our qualified and experienced dental technicians will ensure that your treatment is safe and enjoyable. We also provide you with aftercare products.
Buying a low-quality, non-personalised home teeth whitening kit
Many teeth whitening products claim that they are the best teeth whitening, but they don’t provide you with a personalised kit. Imagine using a generic size of bleaching trays, and the hydrogen peroxide is spilling over your teeth. Not only will it give you poor and uneven results, but it might also burn your gum.
For this reason, we only use personalised kits and non-peroxide whitening gels for our treatments. That way, we can ensure safe and even whitening.
Using products that are not designed for teeth whitening
You might have read or heard somewhere about the benefits of lemon juice to whiten your teeth. Even if it is true, lemon juice poses greater risks than its benefits. Large amounts of acidic lemon juice could erode your teeth enamel.
It also applies to other home remedies that haven’t been proven to help whiten teeth. Even if they work, you might get uneven or unwanted results.
Going to unqualified services
Many walk-in services claim that they are professional to do teeth whitening treatments. But will you just trust them? What if you trust them and they deliver poor work?
The question to ask is whether “those professionals” are qualified to deliver teeth whitening treatment. At SmileBar, we have a team of trained dental technicians with years of experience in professional cosmetic teeth whitening.
Not cleaning your teeth first
Tartar, plaque, tooth decay or other food debris stuck between your teeth could prevent the whitening agent from working evenly.
You can easily solve this problem by visiting a dentist for a cleaning, scaling or tooth extraction before your in-chair dental whitening procedure. Plus, maintaining oral hygiene by brushing and flossing your teeth daily could prevent tartar or plaque build.
Not following the instructions
If you are using a teeth whitening kit at home, you must be extremely careful. You have to follow the instructions printed on the packaging carefully. Never buy a teeth whitening home product without instructions on its package.
Skipping or not properly following the instructions could be harmful. If you are using strip teeth whitening, do not put the strip on your gum. If you are using a whitening tray, make sure that the tray fits properly to your teeth. You should also notice how long the treatment is. Using the whitening agent for longer than recommended could bring more harm than good.
Now, can you imagine how troublesome using a home teeth whitening kit is?
It is always better and safer to leave this to the hands of professionals. Without hassle and worries, you just need to come to one of our offices in Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Melbourne to get a bright, healthy smile in less than two hours.
We also provide aftercare products to help you maintain your oral hygiene and pearly smile.
Using more than recommended
The more, the merrier. But not for a home teeth whitening kit. You should be extra careful in the amount, duration and frequency when you use it. Refer to the instructions, or if you are unsure, ask your dentist.
Using the home teeth whitening kit with more amount, longer, and more frequently than recommended seems a shortcut for brighter and faster teeth whitening. But it will only stain and damage your teeth and gums.
Using artificial teeth
You should note that the whitening agent only works on natural tooth enamel. It won’t work on any artificial surface such as dental crowns, veneer, filling, teeth restoration or prosthetic teeth.
Be aware that your artificial teeth will likely have different shades from your natural teeth after oral whitening. Your dentist could give you alternatives such as placing new white fillings or crowns or new restorations to match your new teeth colour with others.
Not avoiding staining agents
Maintaining good oral hygiene and avoiding staining agents such as red wine, tea, coffee, tobacco, colas, apples, potatoes can be enough to keep your pearly whites. But this is not always the answer. Other intrinsic and aging factors could be the reason for your yellowing teeth. This is when professional teeth whitening treatment is needed.
If you had your teeth whitened, it is wise to avoid those staining agents to help maintain your bright white smile for as long as possible. Have we mentioned that our teeth whitening treatment could last for up to TWO YEARS? Turn to us for long-lasting results.
Not following aftercare instructions
Aftercare habits and products are as important as the teeth whitening treatment itself. For the first few hours after the treatment, your teeth will be more sensitive than usual. You should avoid smoking and consuming acidic foods and beverages.
You might also consider avoiding other staining agents to have a long-lasting bright smile. But if you think that you need a top-up to have a brighter smile, you are more than welcome in our offices! Our professionals will help you restore your glowing smile in less than two hours.
Treating teeth whitening as a one-time treatment
Nothing in this world is eternal—including teeth whitening results. Even the best teeth whitening treatment will not give you permanent effects. That’s the reason you need to have a routine teeth whitening treatment.
Our treatment could give you up to ten shades of whiter teeth for up to two years. With our aftercare products and good oral hygiene, you could have longer-lasting white teeth than other treatments.
Whitening too much
A wise man says patience is the key. It also applies to teeth whitening treatment. If you have the treatment too often, it could damage your teeth. Too much bleach would erode your enamel, which is important to protect your teeth from decaying.
Eroded enamel could give your teeth a translucent or semi-transparent appearance rather than a pearly white one. This condition is irreversible. So make sure to keep the treatment frequency in mind. If you still have more questions about this, go to your dentist or leave a message to our staff, and we will get back to you soon.
At SmileBar, you don’t need to worry about anything. Our professionals will take care of everything for you. You just need to book an appointment online or call us at 1300 757 641.
You can visit one of our branches in four cities; Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Gold Coast. After that, you can consult about your condition and relax on our designer chair to have your teeth whitening treatment. In less than two hours, you can have whiter teeth for up to 10 shades!
