Bleach
Are you experiencing discoloration of your teeth?
This can have various causes, such as consuming coffee, tea, red wine, smoking, and taking certain medications at a young age. However, a tooth can also become discolored after trauma, root canal treatment or other reasons.
In some people, teeth are naturally more yellowish. Our dentist or dental hygienist can inform you about the possibility and suitability of external or internal whitening of your teeth.
The method of bleaching depends on the cause of your tooth color.
In short, if the cause is on the outside of the tooth then external bleaching or whitening may be the solution.
If the reason for discoloration is inside the tooth, internal bleaching of your tooth is the solution.
Why might External Teeth Whitening may not be right for you?
One possible reason for this is if you have crowns, fillings and/or restorations, because they do not bleach with you. As a result, optimal results cannot be achieved.
External bleaching
Goes through molds and a bleaching gel. You wear these molds with gel for several hours a day.
These molds must be custom-made.
Photo applying bleaching gel in bleaching mold.
Internal Bleaching
Internal bleaching is a dental procedure used to improve the color of a discolored tooth from the inside out. This technique is often used for teeth that have been discolored by trauma, root canal treatment or other internal factors. Internal bleaching specifically targets teeth that are discolored from the inside out, such as from bleeding after an injury, discoloration after root canal treatment, or from certain medications.
Procedure
The dentist begins the procedure by making an opening at the back of the tooth, allowing access to the interior of the tooth. Often there is already a root canal treated tooth, and the root canal filling will be removed as deeply as possible. If not, the tooth is often no longer vital, or in other words the nerve no longer works and root canal treatment is indicated. After opening, a bleaching agent is applied directly into the tooth. We close the opening again with a temporary filling.
Break-in time
The bleach usually remains in the tooth for several days to a week.
Control appointments
The dentist monitors the progress and may decide to repeat the procedure until the desired color is achieved. This depends on the original discoloration and how the tooth reacts to the bleaching agent.
Closing restoration
After achieving the desired color, the opening at the back of the tooth is closed.
Results
Internal bleaching can produce wonderful results, but it is not always success. Should internal bleaching not give the desired result, we will look at masking the color through a composite or porcelain veneer, or a crown.
Above example, shows a case of internal bleaching.
The after picture is right after bleaching and you can see that the element is even slightly too light at this time.
This color still recovers after which the filling can also be adjusted to color.
This post is also available in: Dutch
