Everyone would love to have a white and natural looking smile but we all live in a world filled with teeth staining factors such as coffee, soda, tea and that occasional glass of red wine. So how do we get that perfect selfie-worthy beautiful smile? Well, achieving those pearlie white smiles are easier than most people think and many have achieved that dream smile with our simple teeth whitening procedure. We have listed 5 benefits why you should consider teeth whitening.
1. Whitening is the easiest anti-aging procedure yet discovered – and no needles!
Whiter teeth make you look and feel younger, partly because we associate white teeth with youth and beauty, and partly because we naturally look younger when we smile, and we smile more when we like our smile.
A study published in Psychology and Aging, authored by Manuel C. Voelkle of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin have shown that people tend to guess the age of those with happy smiling faces to be younger than the photos of the same person with a neutral or angry facial expression. This study have shown that that facial expression plays a huge part in determining the accuracy and bias towards age.
At Smilefocus dental clinic in Singapore we use Zoom in-house whitening.
2. Whitening confers confidence and self-esteem.
A smile is one of the first things people use to make their assessment of you and your personality. Professional teeth whitening removes persistent stains and brightens your smile, leaving you with more self-confidence and less cause for embarrassment about a less than attractive smile. After whitening you won’t feel the need to smile with a closed mouth or hide your teeth behind your hand when laughing or talking. Instead you can show your smile with confidence. Plus, having your teeth whitening performed by a professional at our smile dental clinic is not only safe, but more effective than using an over-the-counter whitening product.
3. Whitening is the most conservative way to whiten teeth.
No tooth preparation is required, unlike treatments such veneers or crowns. While these treatments can give you whiter teeth, some tooth structure is necessarily lost through the etching process in preparing the tooth. This is required to ensure the veneer or crown bonds properly to the tooth. So with whitening, you get a lovely result in the most conservative manner possible.
4. Whitening is easy to maintain.
At Smilefocus you can also ask for take home whitening maintenance kits. With the custom-made trays and whitening gel you are able to freshen your pearly whites when it suits you. Just 30 minutes a time, and your teeth will retain their colour.
You should avoid staining foods and drinks for the first 24 hours if you can, to get the best result. Everyone’s teeth have a protective layer called the acquired pellicle. This layer contains surface stains and is removed during the whitening procedure. It takes about 24 hours for this barrier to fully develop again. During this period try and avoid dark foods and drinks such as coffee, tea, dark soft drinks, red wine and dark sauces, in order to minimize re-staining. Anything that will stain a white t-shirt will stain your teeth. Also avoid using tobacco products while whitening.
5. Oral health care is improved.
Anecdotally we can say that patients who have had their teeth whitened tend to show an improvement in their oral health care routine. Experiencing the advantages of whiter teeth often leads us to take good care when brushing, flossing, and seeing our dentist for professional cleanings.
Since good oral health is known to improve your overall health and prevent many diseases, whitening may be the best reason you could have to whiten your teeth.
Common Temporary Side Effects and Results
The whitening gel has a cumulative effect and doesn’t work any better the faster you do it. If you find the sensitivity too uncomfortable, we can give you some high fluoride desensitizing gel to place in the trays which will counter this. Your gums may also be a little tender, or even bleed a bit when brushing.
Everyone’s tooth enamel is different and will whiten at a different rate and to a different innate degree although there should always be an improvement in the final shade. You may wish to see us again a month after starting whitening to check the new shade. This will typically be a 15 minute follow up appointment for no additional charge.
Dr Bernard Siew is the Clinic Director at Smilefocus. Dr Siew’s areas of interest include cosmetic dentistry, Invisalign aligners, dental veneers in porcelain and resin, as well as teeth whitening. For an appointment please call: 6733 9882 or click here
