Teeth Whitening: Teeth Whiteners Past And Present

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ancient Societies Used Teeth Whiteners But We've come a long way in the various types and techniques to give us those pearly whites...

Teeth whiteners today are a far cry from the remedies used hundreds, even thousands of years ago to whiten teeth. 

Let's take a look at the history and then the various types of teeth whiteners being used today along with the advantages and disadvantages of each technique.
 
     
 
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The History Of Teeth Whiteners

Although is a widely held belief that people that lived in the middle ages did nothing for their teeth, this is not so, as there have been many different solutions for tooth cleaning and whitening from the medieval times.
One suggestion for hard, healthy teeth, is through the use of cold water to rinse the mouth when a person first wakes up in the morning. It is said to rinse off plaque buildup and loosen particles of food on the teeth.

Another suggestion from long ago, is to rinse the mouth with wine after eating. Then, the teeth should be dried and wiped with a new cloth. Then, the person should chew on parsley, lovage, or dry fennel, since it helps combat bad breath and cleans the gums.

Another suggestion is to rinse the mouth and gums with vinegar and mints, and then rub the teeth with the mint powder or dry mints. It is meant to clean the mouth and gums.

Another way teeth were cleaned in the middle ages was through the use of wine that had been simmered in birch or mint, and then the gums were rubbed until they bleed. After that the person needed to chew mint, marjoram, and pellitory, until it was well chewed. Then the gums and teeth would be rubbed with it. Wine should be drunk at night that has cinnamon, hyssop, spike, or quibibis in it.

The next suggestion is to use Rosemary, and burn it to coals and make a powder, then put it in a linen cloth and rub the teeth with it. It was supposed to remove plaque that is found on the teeth.

For yellow teeth, it is suggested to use sage and salt, put them together, bake them until hard, and then make a fine powder. Then the teeth should be rubbed with it in the morning and night, so all of the yellowness is taken away.

For breath freshening, it was suggested that pepper, mint, and rock salt was mixed together, and then chewed and swallowed.

Another suggesting for bad breath was to use cloves, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon, red sandalwood, quibibis, and cardamom. This should then be mixed with mint juice to make fig-sized balls. Two of them should then be placed on each side of the tongue.

Another breath freshener for women was using laurel leaves, and musk, and putting it under the tongue.

A tooth whitening wash uses strong vinegar, roche alume powder, white salt, and honey. These should be heated together until thin, then placed in a vial. They should be used to wash the teeth and gums with a rough cloth, but not to make them bleed.

Also, in medieval times, in a effort to get whiter teeth, people went to the local barber/surgeon, and they had their teeth filed down and then soaked in nitric acid. Although the patients did get teeth that were white, they also got terrible tooth decay later on, since the enamel on their teeth was destroyed.

Even long ago, people went to great lengths to have whiter teeth. Nowadays, one can get white teeth much easier and safer than in the middle ages.

 
 
 
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Different Types Of Teeth Whiteners

For people that are looking for the whitest teeth possible, there are many different things available. There are gels, pastes, and strips that can be used to get your teeth back their white luster. They can be used right at home, or at the dentist's office. 
The very outside of the tooth is made of a see through layer of hydroxyapatite, which is a mineral that is comprised of calcium phosphate. The enamel that protects it, is the hardest tissue in the body. Under that is dentin, which is calcium phosphate and collagen that is found around blood vessels and nerves that give your teeth nutrition. Teeth look white due to light that passes through the enamel and is reflected by the dentin.

Most dental discolorations are just at the surface of your teeth's enamel. Many things can discolor teeth, like red wine, tea, and coffee. These substances sink into the surface of the enamel. Usually they can be removed through brushing, but over time, these substances can diffuse into the enamel, and brushing alone will not get rid of them.

Whatever the reason for tooth discoloration, anyone that has gone on the hunt for whiteners, knows that there are tons to choose from. Usually, they work much the same. They remove surface stains on the teeth. Toothpastes use abrasives to remove stains from the surface of the tooth. Things like aluminum oxide, silica, calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphates are often used. There are some manufacturers that use proteolytic enzymes and chelators to remove tooth stains.

Whitening gels are made for stains that are found below the tooth surface. This is usually accomplished through peroxide based gels. It works by breaking down into oxygen and water through radical intermediates. They are thought to interact with polyphenols and other pigments that result in stained teeth, partly by annihilating the network that lets compounds have their color.

It is said that hydrogen peroxide can get into the enamel and dentin in 15 minutes, so the use of hydrogen peroxide bleaching is good for surface and deeper stains. However, most whitening products that are out there have carbamide peroxide, because the earliest peroxide antiseptics needed to be put inside oral wounds, so solid carbamide peroxide was implemented instead of hydrogen peroxide.

Usually, whiteners that have peroxide as their base also have glycerin, and carbopol to thicken the mixture, and also different things used for adding flavor.

Gels that have 10 to 20% carbamide peroxide are brushed right on the teeth, or worn in strips, or placed on the teeth via a mouth guard tray. These types of treatments generally take a few weeks to work.

When at the dentist's office, they use up to 35% hydrogen peroxide. Since this can result in tooth sensitivity and irritation of the gums, they take precautions to make sure that the gel is only placed on the teeth. Lasers or other light sources are used sometimes, since it is believed to speed up the process.

Whatever the reason for wanting whiter teeth, it can be accomplished with the assistance of some of the many products that are on the market today.
 
     
 
 

 
     
 
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Dental Veneers.  A Better Option For A Teeth Whitener?

Porcelain or Composite resin are the most used material when making dental veneers. They can both be made by a dental technician at a lab. Composite veneers can be made in your mouth while you are at the dentist's office. 
Ones that have been fabricated in a lab are put on your teeth with different kinds of resin cement. Porcelain veneers last longer and cost much more than composite resin veneers.n your own.

If there are small chips or cracks in the teeth, bonding is often a good inexpensive way to fix the teeth. Since these are small problems, they can be repaired with a white filling. A type of composite resin is bonded to the tooth so that the chip or crack is filled, and the rest of the tooth is protected. If there are bad cases of wear, dullness, discoloration, cracking, chipping, teeth that aren't even, or spacing, then dental veneers could be the better solution.

If you have teeth that are mildly discolored, then usually, simple whitening can take care of the problem. Many people that see a dentist about veneers for discolored teeth will often be advised to try whitening or bleaching first. This will sometimes be done in conjunction with alignment of the teeth. When dental veneers are done, the teeth have to be shaped so that they can be fitted with shells that are custom made. This is something that forever changes the treated teeth, so is usually not for those that have natural teeth that can still be used, or that look good. In cases where teeth are very badly discolored or dull, then dental veneers might be the only solution. Veneers are a good option since they can make the look of the mouth, smile, and potentially other facial areas more pleasing, thereby helping with self-confidence. Even though it is much more costly than whitening, most people agree that the price is worth the benefits they receive.

Dental veneers also help the teeth by protecting them when they are damaged. Sometimes, through the use of dental veneers, crowns are not needed, so this keeps people from having to undergo more invasive treatments. Since veneers are rather thin, they sometimes do not need tooth reshaping as they are bonded over the teeth. They are also very durable and long lasting when put over the teeth, but they must be well taken care of since the shells are thin and can break rather easily.

Some of the advantages to veneers are:

   1. Allows for a teeth that look natural
   2. Tolerated by gum tissue quite well
   3. Porcelain veneers resist staining
   4. Dark teeth can be made to look whiter
   5. For changing the color and shape of teeth, it is less invasive than crowns, and has a stronger and better-looking outcome.

Some potential drawbacks to veneers are:

   1. You cannot reverse the procedure
   2. Veneers cost more than composite bonding
   3. If they crack, they usually cannot be repaired
   4. Teeth may be more sensitive to heat or cold since part of the enamel has been taken off
   5. Veneers might not be the exact same color as your teeth, and the color cannot be changed later. Whitening needs to be done before getting veneers
   6. In rare cases, veneers have been known to fall off. To stop this from happening, you must not chew on your nails, ice, pencils, or any other objects that are hard.
   7. If you have teeth that are not healthy, veneers are not the appropriate choice.

 
 
 
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Teeth Bleaching Or Teeth Whitening.  Are They One and The Same?

Today, most people want their teeth to be the whitest they can be. Many methods out there are designed for this purpose. One of the largest areas of cosmetic dentistry is teeth whitening.
Teeth whitening or bleaching can be done either at the dentist's office, or through at home bleaching kits that you can purchase at a drugstore. Teeth whitening does work, and although you will have to have touch ups for the effect to continue.

The FDA says that bleaching can be used only when the teeth can be whitened beyond their normal whiteness. This only talks about products that have bleach in them, like carbamide and hydrogen peroxide.

Whitening refers to making the tooth's surface color what it used to be, by getting rid of stains that are found on the surface of the tooth. Anything that cleans the teeth is considered a type of whitener.

There are two different types of tooth stains. Extrinsic stains are ones that show up on the surface of the teeth due to dark beverages, tobacco and food, and everyday wear and tear. Stains such as these that are minor can usually be removed through prophylactic dental cleaning and brushing. Ones that are harder to remove can be taken away through bleaching. If not taken care of early, these types of stains can get into the dentin of the tooth, and become ingrained.

Intrinsic stains are ones that are found on the interior part of the teeth. These are caused by aging, trauma, exposure to certain minerals when teeth were forming, or swallowing too much fluoride. Before, stains like this were thought to be impossible to remove, but today's dentists believe they can even get rid of stained like this through certain take home whitening kits that are done for an extended period of time.

Some of the drawbacks to teeth whitening treatments are:

   1. Teeth bleaching can cause the teeth to become more sensitive for a certain amount of time after application. People can be more sensitive to pressure, temperature, and touch. Some people also experience shooting pains down the middle of their front teeth. People that have greatest chance to experience teeth sensitivity are those that suffer from gum recession, bad cracks in their teeth, or leakage that comes from restorations that are faulty. Usually, this lasts for only a couple of days, but for some it can result in prolonged sensitivity.
   2. About half of the people that use peroxide notice some degree of gum irritation that comes from the bleaching concentration, or via contact with the trays used for whitening. Usually, when the bleaching is over, or the bleaching has stopped, the irritation subsides.
   3. For people that have restorations, like crowns, porcelain veneers, or bonding, bleach doesn't work on these surfaces , and this can cause their normal teeth to become white while the others stay stained, resulting in different color teeth. If someone with teeth restorations like these whiten their teeth, then the restorations will need to be replaced.

Whiter teeth are certainly possible, and when you choose the method that works the best for your situation, you can have a smile to be proud of for a very long time.

 

 
     
     
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