How can teeth become white?
Dec 31, 2024
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Liu Chao
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, methods such as proper tooth brushing, selecting suitable whitening toothpaste, dental cleaning, dental veneers, and cold light whitening can help whiten teeth. It is recommended to visit a reputable hospital and undergo these procedures under the guidance of a qualified dentist to ensure safety and effectiveness. After dental cleaning, avoid temperature extremes (hot or cold) in the short term, maintain good oral hygiene, and avoid biting hard foods.
Generally speaking, methods such as proper tooth brushing, selecting suitable whitening toothpaste, dental scaling, dental veneers, and cold light whitening can help whiten teeth. Detailed explanations are as follows:
1. Proper Tooth Brushing
Using the Bass method, position the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the long axis of the teeth, pointing toward the root tip. Each brushing session should last no less than three minutes. This effectively removes food debris, dental plaque, and pigmentation from the tooth surface, preventing yellowing caused by long-term accumulation.
2. Selecting Suitable Whitening Toothpaste
Whitening toothpaste usually contains special abrasives, chemical adsorbents, or enzymes that help remove surface stains from teeth. However, the effect of whitening toothpaste is relatively limited, requiring long-term use to achieve noticeable improvement. When choosing whitening toothpaste, carefully check the ingredient list and avoid products containing excessive abrasives that may damage the enamel surface of teeth.
3. Dental Scaling
Dental scaling uses the high-frequency vibration of an ultrasonic scaler to break down hard and soft deposits such as tartar, dental plaque, tobacco stains, and tea stains on the tooth surface. The scaler's water-spraying system simultaneously flushes away the dislodged debris, restoring the clean appearance of teeth. The typical reference price for dental scaling is 100–500 yuan per session. Improvement is usually visible within one to two hours after the procedure, although symptoms such as gum bleeding and swelling may occur.
4. Dental Veneers
Dental veneers involve lightly grinding the tooth surface, taking an impression of the teeth, fabricating a porcelain veneer that fits the tooth on the model, and finally bonding the porcelain veneer onto the tooth surface with a special adhesive to change the tooth's color, shape, and size. The typical reference price for dental veneers is 2000–5000 yuan per session. Improvement is usually visible within 30–60 minutes after the procedure, although symptoms such as gum bleeding and swelling may occur.
5. Cold Light Whitening
Cold light whitening involves applying a professional whitening agent to the tooth surface and then illuminating the teeth with cold light of a specific wavelength to activate the bleaching components in the whitening agent, which then break down pigment molecules in the teeth to achieve tooth whitening. The typical reference price for cold light whitening is 1000–3000 yuan per session. Improvement is usually noticeable within two to three hours after the procedure, although symptoms such as gum swelling and pain may occur.
It is recommended to visit a reputable hospital and undergo these procedures under the guidance of a qualified dentist to ensure safety and effectiveness. After dental scaling, avoid thermal stimuli in the short term, maintain good oral hygiene, avoid chewing hard foods, reduce consumption of dark-colored foods and beverages, and monitor for tooth sensitivity.
