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Look Younger with Whiter Teeth
Teeth yellow as you age, and whitening your teeth is one of the fastest ways to take 10 years off your appearance, says New York City dentist Dr. David Nusblatt. "A brighter smile not only draws the attention away from your crow's feet, but I find patients smile more when they've had their teeth whitened," says Dr. Nusblatt. With today's technology the process can take as little as an hour. Results are immediately visible and long lasting. If you're thinking about whitening your teeth, here's what you need to know:
Be prepared: Always make an appointment to get a checkup before whitening to make sure you don't have cavities. At that time, discuss your whitening options with your dentist. Teeth whitening does not work on all shades of teeth. Generally teeth yellowed by aging are easiest to bleach. Brown and gray-tinted teeth may not be bleachable.
Know Your Options
You have many options for attaining a whiter smile:
At the dentist: There are two kinds of in-office, or "chairside" bleaching techniques. In one, your dentist applies a protective gel or rubber shield to your gums then applies a bleaching agent to your teeth. Sometimes a special light is applied onto the teeth to enhance the action of the bleaching ingredients. Dr. Nusblatt uses Rembrandt's Power Light, which uses a plasma arc light. With this system he can do the entire arch or one tooth at a time. Power Light only takes about an hour and there are no side effects. As an alternative to that, some dentists offer laser whitening, which means the heat applied to the bleaching agents on the teeth is from a laser light, which is more intense than the arc light. It's much more expensive than Power Light Bleaching (generally around $1,000 vs. $500), and can cause some tooth sensitivity.
At home: There are a number of at-home procedures and products which can either be dispensed by your dentist or purchased over the counter. If you get a system from your dentist, you'll apply a whitening gel into a custom-fitted mouthguard and wear it once or twice a day for about two weeks. A teeth-whitening system you buy over the counter works in much the same way, however instead of having a custom mouthpiece, you'll "boil and bite" a mouthguard to conform to your teeth and you'll use a weaker whitening formula.
Maintenace and more: Once your teeth are whitened it's best to maintain them by using whitening toothpastes and rinses.
Give Ten Top Ways to Whiten Your Teeth and they are all simple!
You might find that your teeth are white than you ever imagined.
1. Avoid coffee and red wine as much as possible. Both will quickly stain your teeth.
2. Raw veggies will clean your teeth so you not only have a healthy snack, you are cleaning your teeth at the same time.
3. Keep an eye on your toothbrush. It can't do its job if it is worn out. It might sound obvious, but you have no idea how many people hold on to the same old brush. If you think about it, it is almost impossible to brush away film that hides your white teeth, with a brush that has worn out bristles.
4. Strawberries have a natural bleaching effect and are loaded with Vitamin C, so you simply can't lose. Rub the pulp over your teeth and then rinse.
5. Brushing your teeth every 12 hours is considered a rule of thumb. This will prevent plaque from forming and stains setting.
6. Lemon peel massaged over the teeth is often used for whitening. Rinse thoroughly.
7. Avoid smoking. This is one of the quickest ways of turning white teeth yellow.
8. Floss at least once a day. Stains can easily form between teeth.
9. Use whitening toothpastes that have the American Dental Association seal of approval.
10. Have your teeth professionally cleaned once a year. Your teeth will feel so much cleaner. Makes you wonder about the rest of the time.
Posted by Beauty Salon on March 28, 2007 08:39 AM | Permalink
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