Are You Struggling With Badly Stained Teeth?

A look at the two main teeth whitening treatments available for our Chelmsford patients.

Are you a smoker who enjoys drinks such as red wine or tea, or perhaps you are in your middle to later years? If you are, then there is every chance that your teeth might appear more discoloured than you would ideally like them to. At one time, there would have been next to nothing that you could do about this and you would simply have to put up with an ‘inferior’ smile. Cosmetic dentistry, though, now offers a few solutions to this common problem and we will be taking a look at this in today’s blog.

Even if you think that you avoid things that might stain your teeth like red wine, smoking etc, it is less well known by many patients that, as you age, the section of the teeth below the enamel, known as dentin, starts to darken in colour. This will gradually show through the tooth enamel and make your teeth look more discoloured. This is a natural part of life and can’t be avoided by brushing etc. To correct this type of staining, you will need professional dental help.

Teeth whitening (bleaching)

The first step that most people would take to restore the colour of their teeth would be to have a teeth whitening procedure. This is a highly effective treatment but usually works best where staining and discolouration is relatively mild. We will, of course, look at the possibility of this treatment for you when you have your initial consultation, but for the purpose of this blog, we are going to presume that this wouldn’t offer the best solution for you and will take a look at the next option for patients whose tooth discolouration is a little more significant.

Dental veneers

The most effective solution for patients of our local dentist who have fairly badly stained teeth is to use porcelain dental veneers. This does require some invasive dentistry but also provides a long term solution. For this reason, some people even prefer to have this done once rather than have their teeth whitened more regularly when the effects of a whitening procedure start to fade. We can offer advice on this at the consultation.

Veneers are very fine layers of porcelain which are attached to the front of the affected teeth. In order to do this, it is first of all necessary to ‘shave’ a fine layer from the front of your teeth using a special tool known as a dental ‘burr’.  This will require a local anaesthetic to allow the procedure to be carried out in relative comfort. Once this part of the treatment has been completed, we will take impressions of your teeth from which the veneers will be produced.  As this may take a week or so due to them being produced in an external, specialist laboratory, you will be fitted with temporary veneers to protect the teeth in the meantime.

Once your final veneers have been produced and returned to our practice, we will remove the temporary veneers and adhesive, and then, using fresh adhesive, expertly attach your new veneers to your teeth. These will then be trimmed and polished to make them look entirely natural before you leave Blue Sky Dental with a more attractive, whiter smile!

Maintenance

As we mentioned earlier, porcelain teeth veneers are long lasting and can last for around ten years or so. The amount of time will depend, to a large degree, on how well you look after them. There might be a temptation to brush and floss these teeth less well than your natural teeth as the veneers are artificial, but this could lead to disastrous results.  If the natural part of the tooth that the veneer is attached to starts to decay, and/or a filling is needed, this may lead to the veneer becoming less secure – so please pay special attention to all areas of the tooth when brushing. We also strongly recommend that, in addition to seeing us for check ups, you also arrange six monthly professional cleanings by our friendly hygienist to help ensure a healthy mouth.

With your new dental veneers, you will not only have a more attractive and whiter smile but  are likely to feel more confident in both social and business situations too. People tend to warm to attractive smiles and your veneers may just give you the head start that you need.

If you would like to discover how we can help you have whiter teeth, even if yours are badly stained or discoloured, why not contact Blue Sky Dental to arrange an initial consultation where we can discuss your options? We invite you to call our Chelmsford practice on 01245 211070.