Because the peroxide goes inside the tooth, people born with yellow teeth can benefit from bleaching.
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Am I a candidate for bleaching?
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Q: My teeth have always been yellow. Will bleaching work on them?
A:
Q: What do you need to do first to see if you are a candidate?
A:
Get an examination and xray of any discolored teeth to make certain they are not abcessed, have decay, or internal resportion. See how many fillings you have in your "smile zone", since they will not change color with bleaching.
This tooth is discolored because there is a gray filling on the tongue side of the tooth. A dental examination may reveal restorations that need to be replaced before or after bleaching. With this gray filling, as the teeth become white from bleaching, that tooth will look more gray. The filling will be replaced first, then the teeth bleached.
Crown did not change color after bleaching, so needs to be replaced.
Two teeth did not seem to get whiter because they were "translucent". The dental examination will inform you if your darkness is from discoloration or tranlucency.
An xray checks for abcesses, decay, or internal dissolving on the tooth, all of which cause it to be dark.
Q: How do you know if you would look better from bleaching?
A:
When the color of your teeth matches the whites of your eyes.
Because the teeth do not match the whites of the eyes, this person is a great candidate for bleaching.
Q: My teeth have gotten yellow as I got older. Will Bleaching work on them?
A:
The discoloration from aging is a combination of more inside dentin forming, more enamel wearing away, and staining over the years. This is one of the most responsive discolorations to bleaching.
Q: I took tetracycline for ear infections when I was a child, and my teeth are dark and gray. Is this a good situation for bleaching?
A:
The toughest stain to bleach is tetracycline, but over a period of months of nightly treatment, the teeth usually will get lighter. Most will be a lighter shade of gray and still look better. Some will get completely white, but don't expect that.
Outstanding outcome on tetracycline-stained teeth bleached nightly for six months with 10% carbamide peroxide in a custom fitted tray
Q: I take Minocycline for acne, and my teeth seem to be getting dark. What do I do?
A:
Minocycline is the best drug for acne, so you will have to keep taking it. However, it is a tetraycline, so it will stain the teeth. Bleaching periodically can re-lighten the teeth.
Outstanding outcome on tetracycline-stained teeth bleached nightly for six months with 10% carbamide peroxide in a custom fitted tray
Q: I have been a smoker, and want to stop. Can I erase the stains from nicotine?
A:
Nicotine is a stubborn stain, but will generally bleach out in 1-3 months of nightly wear. From a health standpoint, it is a great plan to stop smoking, and it keeps your teeth from re-staining.
Nicotine stains from this 20 years of pipe smoking took two months of nightly bleaching with 10% CP to remove.
Q: I have some white spots on my teeth. Will they go away with bleaching?
A:
White spots don't go away, but the background of the tooth occasionally will get light enough to make them less noticeable. Sometimes, these white areas have to be "sanded off" or covered with a restoration (filling).
This white area had to be both bleached and sanded, while the brown came out with bleaching alone.
Q: I have these brown areas on my tooth. How do I get rid of them?
A:
Brown is responsive to bleaching about 80% of the time, and should be the first choice for removal.
Brown is responsive to bleaching about 80% of the time, and should be the first choice for removal.