Teeth whitening is the ultimate cosmetic dental procedure. It allows you to remove all kinds of discolorations and make your teeth look as white and pearly as ever. And due to how simple and effective it is, it is also the most popular treatment for cosmetic dentistry. If you’re interested in teeth whitening or other dental procedures, you can check this website and visit us at Signature Dental Care in Hickory Hills.
Teeth whitening is a stellar procedure that many dentists wholeheartedly recommend. However, some unexpected minor issues might arise regardless. These issues mainly include little white spots. But what are they? And how do you go about them?
Why Do Your Teeth Have White Spots After Teeth Whitening: What Are They?
At this point, you’re definitely wondering about the mysterious teeth-whitening stains. To solve the mystery, the simplest way to go about it is to say that teeth whitening doesn’t exactly cause these little white patches.
Simply put, if your teeth already have areas that are slightly whiter than the rest, they will, naturally, get lifted to a lighter shade once the whitening process begins. However, that doesn’t entirely solve the mystery, so let’s see how these white spots even occur in the first place.
White spots on your teeth occur as a product of hypo-calcification, which happens when tooth enamel loses calcium. Sadly, that doesn’t really solve the mystery either. To truly solve it, we must figure out the cause of calcium loss.
Well, there are several common causes of calcium loss in tooth enamel. These include a diet with high sugar or acids, dehydration, too much fluoride, and a lot of plaque. Occasionally, they can be caused by the removal of brackets and brands used for orthodontic purposes.
How to Get Rid of White Spots on Teeth After Whitening
These white patches on teeth after whitening can, understandably, pose an aesthetic issue. So, what can we do to get rid of these white spots? Well, despite the fact that this can prove to be a hassle, there are two main treatment options you can opt for, which you’ll pair up with recommended dental and oral care tips.
- Hydrogen Peroxide or Carbamide Peroxide – It’s a known fact that in combination with teeth whitening, hydrogen or carbamide peroxide can break up stains. That can also aid with making the surrounding color brighter as well, which in turn makes the stains less visible.
- Enamel Microabrasion – The other treatment option is enamel microabrasion, which has produced outstanding results when it comes to removing white stains from affected teeth. This treatment functions as a combination of hydrochloric acid and pumice. Other techniques can also be used, such as the one implementing fine-grit silicon carbide particles and a water-soluble hydrochloric acid.
How Long Do White Spots on Teeth Last After Whitening
The duration of the white patches depends on their intensity, and many can be removed with additional teeth whitening sessions. While some of these white spots may need extra attention to be removed, some will go away on their own after several days or, sometimes, up to a few weeks.
It’s important to add that these white patches are generally a common occurrence when it comes to teeth bleaching and often occur as a result of dehydration. However, after a short period of time, they do go away on their own.
Rehydrating Teeth After Teeth Whitening
As we’ve briefly just mentioned, teeth often tend to fall victim to white spots due to dehydration. That happens because your teeth act in a similar way to sponges, meaning that they’re porous. While that can be a strength since it allows bleaching agents to reach your tooth and whiten it, it can also be a weakness because the natural porosity of teeth can also allow coffee, wine, tobacco, and various fruit juices to leave stains on your teeth over a longer period of time.
So white spots appear on teeth after whitening is due to dehydration, but how exactly? Well, due to the whitening gel being able to infiltrate the layers of your tooth, break down the stains, and eventually brighten the tooth, the internal temperature of the tooth increases. That can, understandably, drain the moisture and lead to dehydration.
How does the rehydration process work, though? Well, it’s not all that complicated. Mainly, you just need to stick to a certain diet for the first day or two. That includes laying off foods that are either very hot or very cold.
Normally, you’ll also need to drink a lot of water, but make sure that it’s room temperature water so as to not cause additional problems. You can also use a straw since you’ll probably be experiencing sensitivity problems due to the teeth whitening treatment.
Another thing that helps both with preventing re-staining and sensitivity are post-whitening fluoride treatments, which you can ask your dentist about.
How to Prevent Future Occurrence of White Stains
Prevention is the best treatment, or so they say. So, with that in mind, it’s important to know how to stop these white spots from appearing again.
Now, the first step to any time of dental care is good maintenance, which includes taking care of your teeth regularly and properly with quality brushes and good toothpaste. That way, you can keep the shine of your teeth and prevent the pesky stains from appearing and causing trouble again.
Proper care also includes things like brushing and flossing on a daily basis and using mouthwash, as well as paying regular visits to your dentist and getting a professional dental cleaning on a biannual basis. Lastly, post-whitening fluoride treatments, as we’ve already briefly mentioned, can also be a phenomenal way to prevent reoccurring stains and keep your teeth white and pearly.
