Whitening vs Bleaching..

 

Today's post is about a popular procedure,that is one of the main reasons that people go to the dentist;to have their teeth bleached..

This is the first of a series of two posts that cover the bleaching process.Today I am going to cover Over-the-counter whitening products and explain why they are different than the bleaching procedure performed in the dentistry.

 

 In the era of white-and-bright smiles everyone wants their teeth sparkling white;I like bleached teeth that look naturally white and more important healthy,and that is what I try to have as an outcome of any bleaching procedure.Some of my patients go for the bathroom-tile-white extra bleach color.Even though I don't recommend it,if the patient wants it I will give it to him.

 

Due to the fact that the economy is not exactly booming,there are some patients that consider using products that are advertised on tv or web ads that promise the spectacular results of the professionally applied bleaching products in half or a quarter of the price.

 

When-and sadly not if-they don't deliver the promised result the patients think:
 

Why didn't it work;it said it would whiten my teeth and my teeth are still dark.



It didn't work because the product was a whitening agent and not a bleaching agent.

Well excuse me doctor,I am not interested in linguistics;I just want a sparkling smile

Sadly dear readers of the blog,the terminology is of great essence.Because the devil lies in the details

 

There are  whitening agents and  bleaching agents.

Whitening agents are marketed as cosmetics,thus able to be sold in a variety of places from the local drug-store to supermarkets.These agents do not have to be applied by a dentist or a doctor.That is why some of these agents are referred to as over-the-counter medicines.On the other hand there is little credible proof that these agents work.

 

These agents can be found in the shape of a pen,strip,gloss etc

 

                                                     pen-formed whitening agent



Bleaching agents on the other hand can only be sold to health professionals(dentists-doctors);it is dangerous and highly illegal to be used by non-doctors.Unlike their whitening counterparts,bleaching agents have a well documented mode of action.in other words they work!

In a nutshell,if a product doesn't have acid(hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide),or it has an extra low concentration of the aforementioned substances,it is a whitening agent.It works but it doesn't bleach the teeth.It gives them a sparkle and nothing else.If a product has the aforementioned substances,it is illegal to be sold to non-doctors but it is a bleaching agent and it gives you the white smile you always wanted.
 

I am telling you these facts because it is nice for the consumer-that is you-to be informed about what and why you pay. There are some patients that come to the dentistry wanting a bleaching done and when they hear that the price is greater than the one they had decided-or thought that they would pay,they mentioned these whitening agents.And when I try to explain the difference between whitening and bleaching they look at me sceptically.

 

Wanting the best possible treatment in the best possible price is not wrong;wanting to have your own in the expense of someone else is.

I hope I gave you some food for thought.Remember knowledge is the key to many things!

Doctor I think I need a filling

Today's post is the the procedure of dental fillings.We will about the how and the why and in one of our next posts we will analyze how and why teeth start to decay .
Suppose dear reader that your tooth occasionally hurts during cold stimuli , when consuming sweets or that you have an odd taste or smell in the mouth If you know what is good for you,you won't wait for it to pass,but instead you go to the dentist.And while sitting in dental chair and having the dentist looking at your teeth,the dentist sees this picture

 

This is a "hollow" tooth,and the black hole(or cavity) is dental decay!
  For the readers who do not like real pictures of the teeth, let's see it schematically

 

  The black lesion is caries or tooth decay and the red,illustrates the nerve of the tooth.And if left untreated, the damage will certainly grow,and infect the nerve and what will be the outcome?
Let me hear you say it

                         Endodontic treatment Doctor! 

                           
 That is correct.,because the caries haw reached and infected the nerve of the tooth.

                                        

  And what do we do when we have active caries? The treatment of choise is a dental filling and the process is as follows:

First we numb the area and thoroughly clean the tissue is infected.That means to clean the tooth from the decay with dental handpiece.

Then, in cooperation with the patient, we choose the material that is to be used for the filling. Today  nine out of ten times,in Greece, we use white fillings or dental resins,which are higlhy aesthetic, because they mimic the color of the tooth.In the video below we can see the whole procedure for resin dental fillings 

 

 

We isolated the area to control the moisture of the mouth, because white fillings are sensitive to moisture.We put a metal ring,so we can control the ouline of the dental filling and prevent excess material from going into places that we do not want it to go.We prepare the tooth for the white filling. For the material to harden
(because when it comes out of the tube it is a bit viscous),we use a dental curing unit that emitts blue light. In the end we polish the filling and check for any problems such as excess material or that the patient has something that stops him from chewing properly.
  An equally good video for white fillings are the following

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For black fillings procedure is about the same..

Again anesthesia, isolation, caries removal and tooth fillings.  

I hope I've informed you.Don't forget to smile