The “Hollywood Smile” — dazzlingly white — is associated in our society with youth, health and vitality. Achieving that smile through either professional or home whitening applications has become very popular.

Teeth become discolored or dull for a number of reasons. It can be something intrinsic with the teeth — changes in enamel or dental structure during development, inherited disorders, heavy exposure to fluoride or tetracycline, or changes in mineral structure or wear due to aging. It can also be extrinsic, resulting from environmental or lifestyle causes. Eating foods with tannins (red wine, coffee or tea) or carotene pigments found in plant foods like oranges or carrots, or using tobacco may all cause staining.

Most modern applications involve an oxidizing chemical (usually hydrogen peroxide) that bleaches the teeth. Professional applications in a dentist's office use high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (usually 35 to 45%) applied directly to the teeth with control measures to protect the lips and gums. This type of application can lighten the color of teeth up to ten shades.

There are a number of home options too: whitening strips, “Paint on” or “Brush on” whitening, and even whitening gum. We can also provide you with a “Take home” kit that resembles the professional application but is generally less expensive. Although all these home applications are generally safe and effective, they typically take longer for results (several repeated days as opposed to about one hour for an office application), and not always to the same level of lightness as the professional.

Just about anyone can be a candidate for a whitening application. However, if you have thinner than normal dentin and more porous enamel, or suffer from gum recession or enamel loss, then whitening may increase tooth sensitivity. And, whitening is not a permanent solution: the brightness will fade over time, usually within a year. You can slow the fading by avoiding foods and habits that contribute to staining. It's also possible to touch up the initial whitening once or twice a year to extend the life of your new, bright smile.

If you would like more information on teeth whitening, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teeth Whitening.”

Have you ever wondered why your smile is not as white as it used to be? Well, there may be a few different reasons that your teeth have become discolored over the years. The change in color may simply be due to wear and tear from aging. It may also be a result of dietary factors, because foods containing tannins, such as red wine, coffee and tea are known to discolor teeth. Tobacco use, whether smoking or chewing, is another common cause of stains on your teeth.

So, what should you do if you decide you would like a whiter smile? You should first make an appointment with our office, so that we can assess the root cause of the discoloration. We may recommend a quick and easy solution with in-office whitening, sometimes known as power bleaching.

An in-office whitening treatment can lighten your teeth three to eight shades in just one office visit! During your whitening treatment, we will first protect your lips, gums and cheeks, leaving only your teeth exposed. Then, we will apply a professional strength bleaching gel to your teeth. We may use a special light to make the bleach work faster. The great advantage of this treatment is that your smile will become noticeably whiter in just an hour!

If you would prefer to whiten in the comfort of your home, we can give you a take-home whitening kit. First, we will make molds of your mouth, from which we will create thin plastic mouth trays that fit your teeth exactly. You'll apply the whitening gel to the trays and wear them on your teeth 30 minutes a day, twice a week, for about six weeks. While your teeth may not whiten as fast as in our office, if you wear them as directed, you'll still see great results.

Though you may always be able to find a whitening solution in the aisle of your grocery store, remember that the best way to ensure the results you want is to get a professional treatment.

If you would like more information about teeth whitening, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teeth Whitening.”

If your teeth are stained and discolored, misshapen or too small, porcelain veneers may be just the opportunity to treat yourself to a beautiful smile that can last for decades. They may be used to restore a single tooth that is broken or stained, or many teeth that are worn or discolored. If you have small teeth with gaps between them, veneers can close the spaces.

Porcelain laminate veneers are thin layers of dental restorative material that are bonded onto your teeth. With porcelain laminate veneers you can change a tooth's shape, size, and color. They require a minimal amount of tooth preparation (reduction of enamel on the original tooth) and are a great way to help you have a beautiful smile now and for decades to come.

They can last from seven to twenty years or more. Part of what determines their exact longevity is the health of your mouth. Gum tissues may deteriorate and the gum line may shrink back away from the roots of your teeth. So brushing, flossing, and other good dental habits are important in maintaining your investment in your smile.

Veneers don't require special treatment, and you can eat nearly anything with them. Keep in mind one precaution, however. Porcelain, like glass, can break with too much stress. This means that biting something that applies a strong twisting movement to your teeth may cause the veneers to shatter. If you grind your teeth at night you may need to wear a night guard to protect your veneers. It doesn't happen often, but if a veneer detaches it can usually be rebonded to the tooth.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment or to discuss your questions about porcelain veneers and see if they are right for you to enhance or change your smile. You can also learn more about veneers by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Porcelain Veneers: How long will your porcelain veneers last?”

If you cringe at the appearance of your less than pearly whites when you look in the mirror, you are not alone. A frequently requested cosmetic procedure, teeth whitening is a very successful and relatively inexpensive way to enhance your smile. We can determine which whitening treatment will work best for you after performing a basic oral examination in our office. When will it work and when won't it? Here's some background:

Teeth most commonly become stained or discolored due to surface (extrinsic) changes, the most common of which are dietary and smoking. Foods including red wine, coffee, and tea can cause extrinsic staining. Teeth can also commonly become discolored or stained due to intrinsic (internal) reasons, such as changes in the structure of enamel or dentin or by incorporation of chromogenic (color generating) material into tooth tissue during formation or after eruption.

1. Toothpastes that claim to whiten teeth are only effective in removing plaque and other surface stains. Although most of these products contain mild abrasives that remove the plaque, they aren't capable of changing the underlying color of stained teeth.
2. Tooth polishing by your dentist or dental hygienist is effective in removing superficial staining, but will not change tooth color.
3. Teeth whitening systems work by bleaching, generally with the use of hydrogen peroxide. Using bleaching gels in custom made trays or whitening strips can be done at home, but is slow and the changes are gradual. We can perform quicker and more effective “power bleaching” in our dental office when precautions can be taken to ensure safety due to the higher concentrations of bleaching gels used. Teeth with intrinsic (internal) staining may need internal bleaching to whiten them and this can only be done in the dental office.
4. Teeth whitening results fade over time, but optimally last from six months to two years. Taking care of your newly whitened teeth by avoiding the foods, beverages, and habits that cause staining will help them remain whiter for longer.
5. If you have had previous cosmetic dentistry performed, including the placement of composite restorations, porcelain veneers, or crowns, teeth whitening may not be for you. Bleaching agents have little to no effect at all on the materials used to create these restorative products.

If you would like to discuss whitening your teeth with us, call today to make an appointment. To learn more about the various teeth whitening procedures, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teeth Whitening: Brighter, Lighter, Whiter…”

If you are unhappy with the appearance of your smile and would like to change it, we can help you determine what will work best, from a simple whitening to brighten your smile to a complete smile makeover — the possibilities are almost limitless! Consider a “Smile Design” customized just for you. One method of improving your smile is with porcelain veneers. Porcelain laminate veneer tooth restorations are thin layers of dental ceramic — a glass-like material created by dental laboratory technicians, the “artists” who exactly mimic natural teeth making them straighter, whiter, and brighter. They are used to replace worn, dull-looking stained enamel. In addition to making your teeth and smile whiter and brighter, veneers can even be used to change tooth shape and color, close small spaces, and reshape slightly crooked or mis-shapen teeth.

In order to determine if porcelain veneers are a viable solution to help you achieve the smile you have always longed for, consider the following questions:

• Do you want to permanently alter the appearance of your smile?
• Are you hoping to make improvements to your smile that don't take a very long time to complete?
• Are you looking for a way to improve your smile with minimal or even no removal of your natural tooth material?
• Would you like to have more evenly aligned teeth?
• Do you want to change the color of your teeth?
• Do you want whiter teeth and a brighter smile?

If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes and whitening or other treatments have not given you the smile you want, we can help you assess the feasibility of porcelain veneers as one of the many options to enhance and improve your smile. We can fully discuss all the benefits, risks, alternatives, and costs associated with improving your smile.

Call us to make an appointment for a Smile Design consultation and we can get started. If you would like to read more information about porcelain veneers, as well as see a few before and after photos, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Smile Design Enhanced With Porcelain Veneers.”