Why Do Your Teeth Stain?

Over time, teeth will naturally become weaker and discolored. It’s just an inevitable part of life. However, proper dental hygiene, and avoiding certain beverages and foods, can greatly mitigate the wearing down and discoloration of your teeth.

People often experience discolored teeth as a result of:

• Food & Drink: There are many different foods which lead to stained teeth. Beverages are often the main culprit, especially soda, coffee, tea, and red wine. When it comes to food, the problem typically lies in sugary foods, citrus, and acidic foods, as well as food with a lot of blueberries, blackberries, and pomegranates. What these all have in common is their intense color pigments, called “chromogens”. These attach to your tooth enamel and lead to discoloration.
• Tobacco: The two substances responsible for teeth staining from tobacco are tar and nicotine. Tar stains teeth because it is naturally dark. Nicotine, while colorless by itself, becomes yellow when it mixes with oxygen.
• Tooth Damage: Your teeth will naturally try to recover from mouth trauma by creating more dentin, which is a dark layer underneath your tooth enamel.
• Medication: Certain antihistamines, antipsychotics, and blood pressure medications can lead to a darkening of your teeth. In fact, children who have been exposed to antibiotics such as tetracycline and doxycycline during the early formation of their teeth (or even in the womb) may end up with discolored teeth.
• Age: Over time, the soft, yellow dentin below your white tooth enamel begins to show through as your tooth enamel wears thin due to decades of brushing and normal wear-and-tear.

People can experience discoloration for any and all of these reasons. If you are experiencing discolored teeth, then Envision-Dental’s Port Orange teeth whitening services are just what you need.

How Does Teeth Whitening Work?

Having whiter teeth has become one of people’s main concerns when it comes to cosmetic dentistry. There are a number of concerns people often have regarding teeth whitening in Port Orange, and there are a number of factors we consider before the procedure.

There are two types of stains that occur on your teeth: extrinsic and intrinsic. The former shows up only on the surface of your teeth, whereas the latter occupies space between the micro-cracks in your tooth enamel, as well as deep within your dentin layer. While certain toothpastes, mouth rinses, and other products can remove some amount of extrinsic stains, there are specific agents we use in our Port Orange teeth whitening services which can remove stains all the way down in the intrinsic layers of your teeth.

Tooth whitening in Port Orange often involves the use of special tooth whitening agents, or “opalescence gels”. These are often comprised of carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, which are teeth whitening agents that penetrate your enamel and into the discolored intrinsic layers of your teeth. The oxygen molecules within the whitening agents react with the molecules in your teeth which lead to discoloration, and work on them by breaking the bonds that hold them together. This results in teeth whitening as the oxygen molecules spread.

How Port Orange Teeth Whitening Is Done

Our Port Orange teeth whitening services generally require two visits. During your first appointment, we will take impressions of your teeth in order to create custom, clear, plastic trays. During your second appointment, we will make sure the trays fit properly, and will make any necessary adjustments.

The trays that we use are worn with special teeth whitening solution. They are either worn twice a day for 30 minutes, or overnight for a couple of weeks. It all depends on how stained your teeth are, and what level of whitening you desire.

During this time, and for a short period after, it is completely normal to experience a degree of tooth sensitivity. However, it tends to subside very shortly after the teeth whitening process is complete.

You will be given special care instructions for your teeth, as well as trays and the teeth whitening agent. Once you have completed your teeth whitening in Port Orange, you should maintain your new, shiny white smile with proper dental hygiene, and be sure to visit your dentist regularly to keep your teeth beautiful and healthy.