Tooth Whitening Can Help You Smile

by Martin A. David
martin.david@medicalhealthcarecareerschools.com
Health Columnist

If you've gone through most of your life smiling with your mouth closed because of stained and discolored teeth, there's good news in sight. Dentists have a number of new methods of tooth bleaching and there are even tooth whitening kits for at home tooth whitening.

Smoking, coffee drinking, illness, and even heredity may have caused you to have stained and mottled looking teeth. Perhaps your pearly whites are perfect in every way except one: they are not pearly white. Look at some photos of you with friends or family. Are you the one with the very tight-lipped smile? If your desire to keep your mouth closed when rest of the gang is saying "cheese" is caused by yellowed teeth, tooth whitening treatments are for you.

Talk to Your Dentist about Tooth Whitening

A tooth bleaching session in the dentist's office is easy, safe, painless, fast and not very expensive. The dentist will start by evaluating the overall health of your teeth. The good tooth doctor will also ask questions about your physical condition and about habits such as smoking, tobacco chewing, and coffee drinking. Once the dentist has determined the seriousness and cause of your tooth condition, he or she can suggest a whitening program for you.

Some dental discoloration can be reversed with a single treatment, using such techniques as tooth bleaching chemicals combined with ultraviolet light. More serious staining may take a series of treatments. If the condition is really mild (remember that things sometimes look worse in our own mirrors than they do in real life) the dentist may recommend at home tooth whitening and send you on your way with a special tooth whitening gel or a tooth whitening kit.

Whatever it takes will be worth it when you get your smile back again.

About the Author

Martin A. David consults as a Senior Technical Writer for a number of Silicon Valley firms. He is also a translator, specializing in Danish, French and Spanish literary works. He has written numerous feature articles for publications including the Los Angeles Times. He has also published a novel, and a non-fiction book in the area of dance. Martin earned his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Brooklyn College in his native New York. He currently chairs the Santa Clara Cultural Advisory Commission in Santa Clara, California.