Everybody desires bright, shiny, perfect teeth. Having flawlessly shaped teeth just requires going to the dentist’s habitually – at least every six months, but have you ever asked yourself why your teeth become stained? What it is that stains them?

There are various reasons why teeth become discoloured. Dark coloured teeth or a propensity towards staining can be hereditary. Drinking lots of black tea, black coffee, red wine or Coca Cola is discolouring. Too much fluoride can cause discolouration. Over zealous brushing with an abrasive tooth paste or smokers’ tooth powder will wear the enamel off which will expose the grey dentin below the surface. Smoking will taint your teeth. Some antibiotics can cause teeth yellowing. Old fillings can discolour your teeth and teeth discolour as a matter of course as you get older.

The correct and regular use of a good quality tooth paste will help keep discolouration at bay, but there are two kinds of staining: intrinsic and extrinsic staining. Tooth paste with inbuilt tooth whitener will help keep extrinsic (surface) staining in check, but tooth paste cannot touch intrinsic staining (beneath the surface). If you want to get at the intrinsic staining, you will have to use a special teeth whitening agent.

There are two major routes to teeth whitening: the professional route and the DIY route. There are several kinds of professional whitening, but they are all very alike in that they typically involve gels to deliver the whitening agent and a light (laser) to activate it. These systems are applied in a dental surgery.

DIY teeth whitening systems usually involve trays which fit over your teeth, in essence providing a tub of whitening gel for your teeth. The trays are half filled with whitening gel and then pressed over the teeth, Obviously, the gel comes into contact with the teeth and the peroxide bleaching agent will supply oxygen to the teeth in order to lift the discolouration.

After 30-60 minutes the chemicals in the gel have been used up and the session is over. What really matters here is that the trays are a good fit. Some people do find it tricky to get trays to fit their mouth, but they can have dentists make up trays specially for them. This is a lot more expensive though. Dentists agree that the DIY use of bleaching trays is comparatively safe and will improve your teeth by 2-3 shades.

Dentists use more powerful solutions of whitening agent than are generally available to the public and some claim that coupled with an actifying laser, their systems are far better than trays. However, there are many dentists and clients who challenge the claim asking for proof. There does not seem to be any.

Actually, teeth whitening is an on-going process. A session in a dentist’s chair will keep your teeth shining for a year. DIY techniques need to be repeated on a regular basis, but for both types of whitening, you have to play your part too. You cannot just whiten and forget. You have to maintain, which means regular brushing twice a day with a good tooth paste; gargling with anti-plaque mouthwash; and gargling with water after drinking red wine, black tea or black coffee.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a few topics, but is currently involved with investigating laser teeth whitening. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Opalescence Tooth Whitening Systems