Many people nowadays concern more and more about the aesthetic of their teeth. There are lots of newspaper articles, advertisements talking about how to achieve a bright white smile. In fact, scientific studies have shown that the colour, shape and alignment of teeth affect one's self esteem, sociopsychological behavior and thus to the quality of life. In this article, tooth whitening dental treatments and treatments that improve the shape and alignment of the teeth are introduced.

Tooth Whitening

Understanding the causes of tooth discoloration
One crucial factor to successfully whiten your teeth is the correct diagnosis of the causes of tooth discoloration. Basically a tooth can be stained externally or internally. Externally staining is caused by prolonged exposure of food that leaves stain such as tea, red wine, cigarette, coffee...etc. This kind of staining can be removed by professional cleaning. Internal staining is usually associated with systemic problems during tooth formation, for example, low birth weight, prematurity, measles and mumps. Sometimes, the use of drugs may cause serious internal staining (e.g. tetracycline).

Tooth bleaching
Application of bleaching agents such as Carbamide Peroxide or Hydrogen Peroxide for tooth bleaching has become popular for the past twenty years and shows promising result. Home bleaching and in-office bleaching are the most common bleaching treatments.

Home bleaching - This is the treatment that allows you to bleach your teeth at home. Dentist will tailor make a mouth tray for you. All you need to do is to apply the bleaching gel (e.g. 10% Carbamide Peroxide) to the mouth tray and wear it overnight everyday. The whitening effect will be seen after two to six weeks. This is the most common tooth bleaching treatment and scientific studies have proven it effectiveness.

In-office bleaching - One drawback about home bleaching is that you have to wait for weeks before the whitening result can be seen. In-office bleaching only takes an hour to whiten your teeth and the whole treatment is completed in the dental office. In contrast to home bleaching, a higher concentration of bleaching agent (e.g. 35% Hydrogen Peroxide) is applied onto your teeth to enhance the whitening effect. In addition, specific light source (blue light or laser) may be used to speed up the whole bleaching process.

Many people have concerned about the side effect about bleaching. At present, scientific studies did not find any evidence that the tooth bleaching treatment is detrimental to tooth. Tooth sensitivity and gum irritation are the most common complications after tooth bleaching but they are temporary (only sustain for few days) and can be avoided if proper safety procedure is executed.

Porcelain veneer
When the staining is deep and heavy, bleaching may not whiten the teeth (e.g. tetracycline staining). In this case, porcelain veneers may be the treatment of choice. Porcelain veneer is a thin piece of porcelain which can be made into the shape and colour that you like and permanently cemented onto the teeth. A major advantage is that the whitening result is predictable and the veneers could last for years. According to scientific studies, over 90% of the well constructed veneers could last for ten years or longer. Your teeth need to be grinded a little to receive the veneers but the preparation is minimal. Nevertheless, a throughout discussion with your dentist is crucial before having any treatment requiring tooth preparation.

All ceramic crown
An all ceramic crown is a cap like structure entirely made of tooth-coloured ceramic that covers the whole tooth for protection. Because this treatment requires extensive grinding of tooth substance, it is not normally recommended just for tooth whitening purpose in healthy tooth. It is used when a front tooth becomes fragile due to severe tooth decay or fracture to protect the tooth as well as enhancing the aesthetics. Another situation where an all ceramic crown is useful is when the front teeth has undergone root canal treatment. Many of the root canal treated teeth will become grayish in colour due to various reasons and an all ceramic crown is necessary to provide protection and aesthetics.