“Brush your teeth three-times a day and floss daily,” is the standard process dentists want you to abide by to ensure your teeth stay bright and healthy; however, sometimes outside factors change the course of your daily brightening and other measures need to be taken. Guess what? You’re not alone. If you’re thinking about having your teeth whitened, here are the facts:

Food and Drink
Coffee and red wine, although extremely popular, can be the cause of your teeth being stained! Their intense pigmentation called chromogens can attach to your pearly white enamel.

It is hard to hear sometimes but the chemicals found in tobacco create stains that over the counter products cannot effectively remove. Tar and nicotine, when combined with air and your teeth, create a yellow-ish stain on the enamel of your teeth.

The white outer shell of your tooth is called the enamel and below it you find the dentin, which is soft. Over time the enamel wears and the dentin, which is naturally an off white almost yellow color, begins to show through.

We all have nerve in our teeth that, if injured, can begin to callous and cut blood flow to the tooth area causing a darker layer under the enamel.

Certain antihistamines, antipsychotics, and high blood-pressure medications cause tooth darkening. Children who are exposed to antibiotics like tetracyclines and doxycycline can also have premature discoloration.

Other than the obvious dental checkups with your dentist, there are other ways to ensure your teeth stay nice and white:

When looking for teeth whitening toothpaste it is important to search for on that is ADA Seal of Acceptance these toothpastes have cleaning agents that safely remove stains from your teeth, if you’re opting out of the dentist visit this is a great alternative. These products do not change the color of your teeth however, these products are only intended to remove stains.

When you’re in the chair your dentist will use a high strength peroxide and a special light that interact to ensure the proper chemical reaction is occurring on your teeth. Power bleaching, like this one, can be kept and enhanced by at-home additional care and/or through consistent dental visits.

There are two different ways to do this: one, your dentist can provide an at-home whitening kit and instructions on how to do it. Two, over the counter products are also available at most stores. This process can be much more time consuming and costly because of the chance the product will simply not work. The concentration of bleaching chemicals in this type of whitening is much less than the one you will find with your dentist.

Once finished, some people may experience sensitivity to temperature, pressure, and touch. Any gum recession or previous cracks in your tooth my increase sensitivity and even cross the threshold of sensitive to painful. In most cases these feeling are temporary but if you believe something is truly wrong tell your dentist right away.