Whitening your teeth is one of the most straightforward things you can do to improve your smile. It can even change your whole facial aesthetic, helping you to look younger and healthier.
Why should I whiten my teeth?
Living with discoloured teeth can hinder your confidence and your desire to smile. Even actions like having your photo taken can become anxiety inducing if you don’t like the way your teeth look.
With so many of us using Zoom for video calls since the pandemic began, it’s no wonder treatments like teeth whitening have continued to be popular. Looking at yourself for hours on end on camera can make it really hard to ignore small imperfections with your teeth. These might even have started to distract you from your call once you’ve noticed they’re there! Teeth whitening is an incredibly simple way of taking away these feelings of self-consciousness.
Professional teeth whitening performed by a cosmetic dentist in Sheffield can also help you to improve your oral hygiene routine. Many people put in the extra effort with their brushing and flossing once their teeth are newly white, as they love the results so much and don’t wish to see them fade. So, despite teeth whitening being a cosmetic dental treatment, it can also be something that indirectly benefits the health of your teeth.
Research has shown that teeth whitening improves your likelihood of meeting a partner and boosts your career too.
A study by Kelton research involved simulating job interviews and first dates. An additional study of the participants was then performed after those in the simulations had had their teeth whitened. The results were as follows:
– 58% were more likely to be hired.
– 53% received larger salary offers from employers.
– 65% were perceived to be more professional in their appearance.
– 61% were perceived to be more confident.
Is there the option of whitening my teeth without the help of a dentist?
We strongly advise any teeth whitening treatment that isn’t overseen by a dentist. Illegal parties performing teeth whitening have put many people’s gum health at risk and in some cases, these treatments caused irreversible damage.
When you’re looking for an establishment to perform your teeth whitening treatment, make sure you check they’re medical professionals with dentist qualifications and experience.
You can read all about the one80 Dental team here. Our dental surgeons are experienced at performing cosmetic dentistry for patients here in Sheffield.
How does teeth whitening at one80 Dental work?
The main difference that sets professional teeth whitening apart, is the use of custom made whitening trays. These are a little bit like a mouth guard you might wear for contact sports.
Your whitening trays are made by taking a digital scan of your teeth. Not all dental practices offer this method of taking impressions, instead opting for manual impression taking. A digital scan is an incredibly simple way of obtaining an exact mould of your teeth and doesn’t involve using dental putty in your mouth, which can cause a gag reflex in some patients. Wherever possible, we seek to use the least invasive methods of gaining the information we need to plan a given treatment.
This is something that sets us apart as a cosmetic dentist in Sheffield.
Once your whitening trays have been made, we will ask you to come back up in to try on your whitening trays. The home whitening process can then begin. You will need to apply the whitening gel we give you to your trays, for the recommended number of hours each day (or night). Within 10-14 days, you can expect a noticeable difference to the shade of your teeth.
The great thing about professional teeth whitening is that once you’ve had your whitening trays made, you simply need to purchase more gel to whiten your smile; your whitening trays are reusable. This makes it a cost-effective way of whitening your teeth, for life.
How do I keep my teeth white after teeth whitening treatment?
The amount of time your teeth stay white after treatment will largely depend on how you look after them. Here are a few tips to observe when you’re looking to prolong the results of teeth whitening treatment:
Don’t smoke: We all know smoking stains teeth in the first place. So, if you’ve had your teeth whitened and you continue to smoke or take up smoking, you can expect them to become stained.
Don’t skip brushing and flossing: It’s an obvious point to make, but forgetting to brush and floss will lead to tooth discolouration.
Don’t eat food and drink that stains your teeth: The odd glass of red wine and dash of turmeric is fine here and there. But eating tooth-staining food and drink regularly will inevitably stain your teeth. If you do opt for these kind of foods, make sure you drink some water afterwards, as this will help to wash away the pigments.
Have top up whitening treatments: We recommend top up treatment once a year to maintain the results.
Visit the hygienist regularly: Regular visits with our dental hygienist will help to maintain the effects of tooth whitening. When removing the plaque and calculus from your teeth, we will use our EMS airflow polishing therapy, which we offer as standard. This efficiently removes stains using a high-powered antibacterial stream of water, compressed air and fine powder particles.
Visit a cosmetic dentist in Sheffield
Contact us to book your teeth whitening consultation here in Sheffield today. We look forward to helping you feel proud of your smile again.
