Some folks aren’t happy with the solution to their problem, they actually want to know “Why?”  Well for all those people with dark or yellow teeth; for the most part it isn’t your fault!  Generally speaking, the color of your teeth depends largely on your genetic makeup.  Teeth really aren’t white naturally; but usually a lightened shade of yellow, gray or brown. 

Teeth stains can be either extrinsic or intrinsic.  An example of the latter is from treatment with tetracycline as a baby (it used to be common for ear infections, not anymore!); or ingestion of too much fluoride during tooth formation.  Trauma to a tooth can cause internal darkening, and teeth simply get darker as we age.

Extrinsic stains can be from smoking, black coffee, dark tea, red wine, and blueberries.  These types of stains can often be removed during routine professional teeth cleaning.  If these stains continue for years however; they may not come off this way!

For the most part, the stain on your teeth is made up of long chain molecules.   The bleaching gels that we use for teeth whitening contain either hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide which deliver oxygen to these molecules; breaking them down into shorter molecules that are white.  The degree to which teeth will bleach depends on their permeability to oxygen.  This permeability is affected by age (older teeth are less permeable, and harder to bleach than younger teeth) and is simply variable from person to person.

This variability from person to person is the reason why some teeth respond well to a one hour zoom bleaching procedure (better response for younger teeth) and other teeth may not.  This is why the Deep Bleaching ™ process that I talked about in a preceding blog post is the most consistent and predictable technique a dentist can use. 

Because the bleaching trays we make fit so well, there is not much penetration of saliva to dilute the bleaching gel.  Also, bleaching at night during sleep is always better because the flow of saliva is way less than it is during the daytime.  Lastly, the duration and intensity of the deep bleaching technique overcome any “permeability” problems described above.

So, younger people (under 30 I’d say) whose teeth are not really that dark to start with can often whiten their teeth quicker (zoom procedure) with less maintenance.  Patients over 50 and those with fairly dark teeth to start with will probably get better and longer lasting results with the Deep bleaching procedure.

If you have already bleached your teeth, and simply need a touch up, you can either do it in one hour with the Zoom rapid whitening procedure, or you can bleach at home a few times; provided you have excellent fitting bleaching trays.  Your cosmetic dentist can best make this recommendation for you.