1. Certain drinks, like caffeine, soda pop, black tea, red wine, or candy, as well as smoking, dull the gleam of teeth. If you cannot deny yourself a pleasure of sipping a cup of strong coffee in the morning or a glass of red wine in the evening, or if you are having a puff every now and then, you need to take care of your teeth more carefully.Be sure to brush them thoroughly every time after you have drunk wine or tea, have eaten a candy, or smoked a cigarette. Whitening toothpastes, which contain polishing agents, can be helpful to a degree to remove stains from the surface of teeth, especially if they are used on a regular basis.
2. Aging and some prescription drugs, such as tetracycline antibiotics, can dull the colour of your teeth. There is really not much you can do about it yourself, but modern dentistry can certainly make wonders!
3. To get back the sparkle of your teeth, ask a dentist to recommend you the best over-the-counter whitening product that would suit the needs of your teeth. Remember that yellowish teeth, which have changed colour because of beverages or smoking, usually lighten well, but if your teeth have a brownish or greyish tint from taking antibiotics in a young age, commercial whiteners may not help.
The most popular and budget-friendly teeth whiteners, which usually contain hydrogen peroxide, include:
- a dental tray together with a gel kit, which visibly lightens teeth in about a fortnight period;
- whitening strips, which are effective for whitening front teeth; and
- paint-on gels - a bit messy, but all teeth can be covered.
4. A more expensive but also more effective way to lighten teeth is to use a custom-made tray, manufactured by your dentist just for you. Such trays contain carbamide peroxide solution and fluoride, which work more gently and lighten teeth faster. A disadvantage of this method is that it can increase teeth’s sensitivity. The cost can vary from $300 and up to $450.
5. If all the above methods of teeth whitening are not effective, or if you want to have even whiter teeth, consider bonding (a resin put over teeth) or porcelain veneers, which are manufactured in a dentist laboratory. The cost is more substantial - up to $300 for bonding and up to $1,500 for porcelain veneers (per tooth). A big advantage of these two methods is that you can choose sparklingly white “new teeth” which will last you for the rest of your life!
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