Dental lightening
Tooth whitening is a technique that lightens the color of teeth in order to give them a more attractive glow and shine. This treatment is offered “on an outpatient basis”, that is to say it is carried out by the patient at his home.
Made by Dr. Clarisse Bonnet
THE PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION
The practitioner and the patient decide whether to whiten the teeth during a preliminary consultation. A preliminary oral examination is also carried out in order to rule out certain contraindications such as the presence of cavities, leaky fillings or gingival inflammation. Finally, scaling and polishing of the dental arches are essential before carrying out the treatment.
It should be known that the treatment allows a lightening of the natural color of the teeth and that the severe cases of dyschromia (coloring of the structure of the enamel, often related to the taking of drugs during the formation of the teeth) will be treated by d other techniques, for example ceramic veneers.
Made by Dr. Clarisse Bonnet
Made by Dr. Clarisse Bonnet
HOW’S THE TREATMENT GOING ?
1st session : an impression of the two jaws is made in the office in order to have polyethylene gutters adapted to the teeth made. The practitioner takes a “control photo” of your teeth which will allow the gradual effects of the treatment to be assessed compared to the initial color.
2nd session : the aligners are tried and adjusted, then given to the patient with a box containing gel syringes. At home, the patient will apply the active gel inside the aligners and then insert them in the mouth for 2 hours a day at the start and then overnight.
The duration of the outpatient technique is generally 15 days. It can be extended up to 6 weeks depending on the initial color of the teeth and the concentration of the lightening product. However, a change in the color of the teeth can be seen from the third day of application.
3rd session : a check-up after the first 15 days of treatment will make it possible to judge the progress of the clarification process, the interest of continuing it or ending it depending on the desired result.
IMPORTANT : one of the advantages of outpatient whitening is the possibility of using the trays provided again (for example following a subsequent descaling session, in order to give your teeth a boost).
Brightening your teeth is not trivial. In all cases, prior and in-depth consultation is necessary.
THE CASE OF DEVITALIZED TEETH
There is a specific lightening technique for treating devitalized teeth which have darkened over time and which are not yet too affected.
- A lightening gel can thus be inserted into the upper part of the tooth (the root having been previously protected by a composite insulation).
- After a while, the product will take effect until the blackened tooth regains the same shade as the neighboring teeth. At the end of this process, the gel will be removed and the tooth re-filled.
- Subsequently, an overall lightening is carried out as described above in order to homogenize the overall shade of the teeth.
TO KNOW
After whitening, transient tooth sensitivity can sometimes appear and lasts about 48 hours. A specific toothpaste is recommended to reduce this side effect.
During the few weeks following bleaching, coloring drinks (tea, coffee, red wine, etc.) are not recommended because the risk of coloring is greater during this period.
