Teeth whitening has always been a topic of great concern to young men and women and white-collar workers in the workplace. A bright and confident smile is inseparable from white teeth as a feature. Therefore, dental beauty has become a fashion in modern society.

However, the various teeth whitening methods that are currently popular, what kind of damage will it bring to your teeth while whitening? How much do you know about the side effects of dental health? How can you make your teeth more beautiful without sacrificing the health of your teeth?

What kind of teeth need whitening?

Just like the test of life, teeth will also undergo various "hardships" in the course of life, causing the originally white teeth to turn yellow:

First of all, in the process of tooth development, due to poor nutrition or poor bone development, the calcification of the teeth will be affected, so that the teeth will become yellow and brittle since childhood.

Secondly, in the process of tooth development, it is faced with the harm of drugs or drinking water sources. The typical ones are tetracycline teeth caused by taking tetracycline in mothers or children, and fluoride formed by long-term drinking of high fluoride water in areas containing high fluoride water sources. Spotted teeth, which turned a white tooth into yellow in childhood, became the main endogenous hazard of tooth yellowing;

Finally, due to the existence of a variety of bacteria on the surface of the teeth, these bacteria secrete a lot of sticky substances all the time, and people's daily eating habits such as drinking tea, drinking coffee, smoking, etc. will leave pigments on the teeth, these pigments are very easy to be adsorbed on the sticky substances secreted by bacteria, making the surface of the teeth yellow or black. If it is not cleaned in time, these substances will gradually invade the teeth from the surface of the teeth and form internal stains, which will cause the inside of the teeth to turn yellow.

The yellowing of teeth caused by these factors has become a problem for people, and they all need whitening.

Comparison and pros and cons of current common tooth whitening methods

Note that we found that due to conflicts of interest, physicians usually only tell patients about the effect of teeth whitening, but do not explain to patients the possible side effects of the teeth whitening methods used. Readers, please pay attention to our various methods below. For the first time, the "deficiencies" in the book are fully revealed:

1. Porcelain teeth

Especially in the case of tooth defects, the better cosmetic restoration method is porcelain teeth, which is also the dental restoration with the best fit and the closest color effect to the natural color. Since bacteria cannot survive on the surface of porcelain teeth, in addition to the whitening effect, there will be no tooth decay.

Suitable crowd: It is suitable for severe cases of moderate and severe tetracycline teeth, fluorosis teeth, enamel hypoplasia, cracked, incomplete and pitted teeth, and the whitening effect is obvious.

Duration: In theory, if there is no problem with the health of the gums (in fact, it is difficult to do this), it can be maintained for ten years or even a lifetime.

Advantages: The effect of whitening teeth is obvious, as much whitening as you want, more lasting or even once and for all.

Disadvantages: To make porcelain teeth, the original teeth must be ground down first, and the damage to the teeth is irreversible. The teeth that are ground into rods are very fragile. After a period of time, there will be sequelae such as gingivitis, periodontitis, and gingival recession. Very likely.

2. Cold light whitening

This is known as a fast and safe teeth whitening technology. The low temperature cold light avoids the stimulation of the tooth nerve during the treatment. The main component of the whitening agent is hydrogen peroxide, which is disposable and non-irritating. The advantage is that the process is very simple, apply a layer of protective agent on the edge of the gums, then apply a whitening agent on the tooth surface, illuminate with a cold light whitening lamp (8-10 minutes according to the degree of tooth staining), then remove the whitening agent and apply another Layers of new whitening agents. This process is repeated three times, and the whole process takes only 30 to 40 minutes.

Suitable crowd: teeth with exogenous pigments (coffee, tea stains, tobacco stains), moderate and mild tetracycline teeth, drug-induced discoloration teeth and hereditary yellow teeth, etc.

Duration: about 2 years.

Advantages: cold light tooth whitening technology, its effect can be increased from 5 color levels to 14 color levels; the low temperature cold light used avoids damage to the tooth nerve during the operation; the operation process does not touch the gums at all, and will not affect the tooth structure. cause damage.

Disadvantages: Cold light whitening is to apply a layer of gel on the teeth through cold light irradiation, and the gel can decolorize the teeth. Therefore, cold light whitening is actually still whitening the teeth through bleaching drugs. The laser is only an auxiliary tool to improve the speed of decolorization. The teeth feel sore during the operation. It is precisely because the bleaching agent damages the enamel on the surface of the teeth. Dentin hypersensitivity (hot and cold reaction) and even tooth embrittlement are more likely.

3, veneer whitening

Veneer whitening is to stick a layer of veneer on the surface of the teeth to cover the discolored teeth. There are two types of dental veneers, resin veneers and porcelain veneers. Resin veneers are resins that are applied to the surface of the teeth after part of the teeth have been removed to keep the shape of the teeth the same as the original. Porcelain veneer combines the advantages of porcelain teeth and resin veneer, which is both beautiful and realistic. This is the latest computer ultra-precision sculpture cutting equipment and technology to cut the "whitening patch" similar to tooth enamel into The shape of the teeth is completely closed. The special active interface material is used to tightly fit the patch on the teeth, so the price is more expensive and the retention time is longer than that of resin.

Suitable crowd: Tetracycline teeth, drug-induced discolored teeth and hereditary yellow teeth, etc.

Duration: theoretically up to ten years.

Advantages: Compared with resin veneer, porcelain veneer has better color and shape, and is almost indistinguishable from real teeth.

Disadvantages: Although the teeth will turn white immediately after veneer, it is also very natural and lifelike, but it is easy to fall off and discolor, which can easily cause sequelae such as swelling of the gums, bleeding and inflammation; the resin veneer has a certain thickness, which will make the lips slightly convex. It has a certain impact on the beauty of the appearance, and the price is not cheap.

4. Teeth Bleaching

Bleaching is to make a transparent dental tray, squeeze the liquid medicine on the tray every night, and sleep with the tray on. There are two types of bleaching: "external" and "internal": external bleaching is suitable for moderately defect-free dental fluorosis and depigmentation of tetracycline teeth, and satisfactory results can be achieved within 3 to 5 weeks. Internal bleaching: mainly used for the restoration of discolored anterior teeth, pulpless teeth or severely discolored teeth with tetracycline. Use zinc oxide clove oil cement to seal tightly, change dressings once every 2 to 3 days, and 4 to 7 times to get better results, and finally fill the cavity with composite resin. 

Suitable crowd: It is suitable for mild hypoplasia of pigmented teeth and yellow teeth caused by changes in tooth enamel with age.

Duration: 2 to 3 years.

Advantages: The price is relatively cheap.

Disadvantages: It is less effective for tetracycline teeth and fluorosis teeth with heavier color, because only the surface layer becomes white, which is not durable, and it is easy to cause tooth sensitivity. It should be noted: Bleaching is not effective for everyone, and it is less effective for tetracycline teeth and fluorosis teeth with heavier color, because it can only whiten the surface of the teeth and is not durable, and because the bleaching agent damages the enamel, it is easy to Causes tooth sensitivity.

5. Teeth cleaning

Tooth cleaning is the use of ultrasonic scalers and sandblasting scalers to remove calculus and plaque from the tooth surface, and to wash away the calculus and calcified dirt on the tooth surface. Scaling is completely different from ordinary brushing. It can not only clean the superficial dirt on the teeth, but also completely remove the plaque, calculus and pigment that cannot be removed by brushing. When cleaning, it is easy to find small and difficult to detect dental diseases, such as relatively hidden To achieve the purpose of early detection and early treatment.

Targeted: It can remove the pollutants on the surface of the teeth, and has a good effect on mild tooth discoloration.

Duration: half a year.

Advantages: Maintain periodontal health while whitening teeth.

Insufficient: just surface whitening, not whitening. After teeth cleaning, a small number of people will experience the phenomenon of tooth soreness that is more sensitive to heat and cold. Frequent flossing can damage and deplete the enamel on the tooth surface.