Everybody loves a bright white smile and we want to help you smile wider and brighter! Some people are satisfied with the sparkle they get from brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste, flossing once a day, and regular cleanings at our
New Rochelle dental office. However, if you decide you would like to go beyond regular care to make your smile look brighter, you should investigate all of your options. There are a variety of products and procedures available to help you improve the look of yours. Tooth whitening can begin in our Lockwood Avenue dentist office in New Rochelle! We invite you to
schedule a visit with Dr. Todd Wortman to learn whether whitening procedures would be effective for you.
Whitening procedures have effectively restored the smile of people with stained, dull, or discolored teeth. The darker tissue of your teeth, the dentin, can become exposed as the outer layer of enamel is worn away by the effects of aging or things like caffeine and tobacco.
Food particles are naturally attracted to a tooth’s enamel by a certain protein. Products like coffee and tea, berries and soy sauce are notorious for staining teeth. Over time, teeth actually become more absorbent and vulnerable to staining from food and other substances.
One type of stain-caused by traumatic injuries, medications and fluorosis-actually begins inside the tooth; brushing and flossing don’t help. Another type of stain-one that can be more easily attacked by brushing, flossing and rinsing-is caused by external factors such as foods.
More and more people today are choosing tooth-whitening procedures to reverse the effects of aging and abuse from food and tobacco stains.
Some commercially available “whitening toothpastes” can be somewhat effective at removing stains and making teeth a few shades brighter. However, many of these products have abrasive substances that can actually wear away your tooth’s enamel.
Whitening agents actually change the color of your teeth, but only are effective on certain types of stains. For example, bleaching agents have a difficult time removing brownish or grayish stains. These products also are not as effective on pitted or badly discolored teeth, or on restorations such as crowns, bridges, bonding and tooth-colored fillings (porcelain veneers or dental bonding may be more appropriate in this case).
Professional whitening performed by our dentist office is considered to be the most effective and safest method; done properly, tooth whitening can last as long as five years. Over-the-counter whitening systems are somewhat effective as long as they are monitored and directions followed closely.
If your teeth are stained or not as white and beautiful as you would like them to be, we’d like to help! We promise, when you leave our dental office, you’re going to love the way you look and feel. Schedule an appointment today at 140 Lockwood Avenue, Suite 303, New Rochelle, NY 10801 by calling 914-380-4344 or visiting
our website.
By Todd D. Wortman, DDS
August 22, 2013
