Clean and bright white teeth are everyone's dream. Because clean white teeth can be a sign that someone is taking good care of themselves. On the other hand, if a person has yellow to black teeth, it is a sign that he is not taking good care of himself. Although yellowing teeth can also be caused by aging, for those of you who are young, of course, your teeth should be white and clean if you take good care of them.
Yellowing and discolored teeth are usually caused by tooth decay and an irregular lifestyle. For example, your teeth are cavities to blacken, too often consume foods and drinks that can make your teeth colored such as coffee, tea, and wine, or also because of smoking habits. Well, if your teeth are already colored, of course you don't need to worry too much because you can return the color of your teeth to be pure white as before with the teeth whitening method. But before you decide to whiten your teeth, here are the things you need to know first.
- Extrinsic and Intrinsic stains on teeth.
Teeth whitening can be done for stains that are extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic stains result from external factors such as smoking habits, poor dental hygiene, or too much drinking or food that is brightly colored. While intrinsic stains come from age, which causes tooth enamel to change color, or because of certain diseases.
- Only natural teeth or natural teeth can be whitened.
If the discolored teeth are dentures or dentures, unfortunately you cannot restore the color of your dentures with whitening. Dentures that have changed color are a sign that they must be replaced with new dentures.
- Materials used
There are two ingredients that are usually used to whiten teeth, namely carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide.
- Minimum age can whitening teeth
Children under 18 years old are not allowed to be exposed to more than 0.1% whitening ingredients, so if you are under 18 years old, it's better for you to keep your teeth clean and white.
- Whitening side effects
You don't need to be afraid to whiten your teeth, because the side effects that usually appear, such as sensitive teeth and gum inflammation, are usually temporary.
Ref.: American Dental Association, https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science-and-research-institute/oral-health-topics/whitening