White Teeth

and hair. Furthermore, even for the lucky ones, pure white is only a mirage. Dentin, in fact, contains greyish, reddish and yellowish shades, which shine more or less intensely from the overlying enamel, which is itself translucent.

Although it is a particularly resistant and mineralized material, enamel retains a certain porosity and as such can allow itself to be crossed by substances and particles capable of changing the color of dentin and of the enamel itself. Among the main enemies of white teeth we find cigarette smoke, mouthwashes with chlorhexidine, natural aging and food pigments, such as those contained in coffee, tea, licorice, spinach and red wine, but also in artificial colors. added to drinks or other food products. A particular case is the accumulation of tetracyclines absorbed during early childhood with medicaments. The canines, among other things, usually have a more intense color than the others.

Insufficient oral hygiene favors the deposit of dental plaque and its subsequent evolution into tartar. The yellowish color of the latter, and the barrier effect of plaque (which opposes the reflection of light, very important for enhancing the natural whiteness of the teeth), gradually extinguish the brilliance of the smile, with an unwelcome change in the color of the teeth. The colored particles of food, drinks and smoke adhere much better and more tenaciously to mature plaque and tartar than The final result is that the teeth appear dark, yellow, duller and less bright.

of this material, only a professional scaling is able to remove it from the tooth. This operation not only improves its appearance, but also preserves its health, reducing the risk of developing annoying gingivitis and other forms of periodontal disease; in many cases, moreover, it eliminates one of the main causes of bad breath.

Following the scaling it is possible to operate a whitening treatment (bleaching) of professional cosmetic dentistry; in this regard slightly different techniques are available, but generally whitening agents with a high percentage of active ingredient are used (after gingival protection to reduce the risk of hypersensitivity and irritation). The whitening substance is then exposed to the light of special lamps, which trigger a series of chemical reactions with the final result of obtaining whiter teeth. The aesthetic expectations, however, must be real, without ever forgetting the speech made at the beginning of the article about the intrinsic shades of the tooth. The bleeching session can vary from 40 to 60 minutes and the cost, approximately, from 300 to 600 euros. On the same day and during the following day, the patient may experience transient dentinal sensitivity. To learn more, consult the articles:

Teeth whitening products
Teeth whitening with the laser
Scaling

, plants or abrasive pastes. These traditional whitening agents remove stains formed on the outermost surface of the teeth, by chemical and mechanical action. It is sufficient, for example, to rub fresh sage leaves on the teeth to obtain an excellent "whitening effect"; alternatively there are gel products, self-adhesive strips, sprays, fluorescent pigments, masks and so on. In any case, whatever it is. the treatment undertaken to obtain white teeth, it is good to do it with some caution and possibly under the advice of your dentist. The whitening agents can in fact irritate and inflame teeth and gums; as such, they are generally not recommended for those suffering from dental and gingival hypersensitivity, but also to pregnant women and women under the age of 14. To learn more, consult the articles: