Why Do Teeth Become Stained and Discolored?

While our teeth appear solid on a quick glance, they actually have ridges or pores in them that absorb the colorful foods and drinks we consume, leading to the appearance of stains and discoloration. Some foods and drinks notorious for discoloring or staining teeth include:

• Tea
• Vibrantly colored spices like turmeric and curry powder 
• Coffee
• Berries, like blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
• Wine
• Tomato sauce
• Dark colored sodas

Our teeth also have a protein layer that covers our teeth’s enamel, giving them a progressively darker, yellow hue as we age. 

Food and beverage choices or age aren’t the only factors that adversely impact our teeth’s appearance. Some other factors that can discolor your teeth, depriving you of your original bright white smile, include:

• Fluoride consumption: Anyone exposed to significant amounts of fluoride in the water supply during childhood has the potential to develop fluorosis, which is the name given to the staining attributable to over-exposure to this chemical compound. 
• Poor dental hygiene: Making a practice of regularly brushing and flossing your teeth soon after consuming discoloring foods or drinks, as listed above, can minimize the risk of pigments becoming entrenched in the grooves, known as tubules, on your teeth.
• Medication usage: A variety of prescription drugs have, as a side effect, a tendency to stain a patient’s teeth. Some drugs that do include chemotherapy, antihistamines, and blood pressure medications. 
• Tobacco usage: Whether you chew tobacco or smoke cigarettes, either one of these habits can cause discoloration or staining to a few of your teeth. 

No matter what your teeth stains or discolorations stem from, an at-home teeth whitening kit like the ones we offer here at Friendly Dentistry in Greensboro, NC can help restore your bright white smile. 

How Does In-Home Professional Teeth Whitening in Greensboro Work?

One of the common questions our staff at Friendly Dentistry receives is about how the at-home teeth whitening services process unfolds. Here’s what you can expect:

• We’ll have you come into the office for a cleaning with a dental hygienist. We’ll then take impressions, a type of mold, of your gum line and teeth using a special type of dental putty.
• Our office sends that mold off to the dental lab, where they use it to make custom bleaching trays fit specifically to you.
• The lab returns the trays to us here at Friendly Dental within a few days, and we call you to pick them up and take them home.
• Once you get your custom whitening trays home, you’ll take the splints or stents, other names they go by, and apply a professional-grade hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution to them. You’ll then place the durable mouth guard-like tray into your mouth anywhere from 1-4 hours per day for the next few weeks. 

Most of our Friendly Dentistry patients see a noticeably whiter smile within two weeks of regularly using their at home teeth whitening in Greensboro. 

How Over-the-Counter and Professional Teeth Whitening Kits Compare

A teeth whitening kit from your local Greensboro, NC pharmacy and the at-home professional ones we sell both use peroxide to break down the particles that have seeped into your teeth’s pores to reveal their original bright white appearance again. 

The results you can achieve by using an over-the-counter versus an at-home teeth bleaching kit you can purchase from a dentist aren’t likely to be the same, though, because:

• Application differences: Retail-bought teeth whitening treatments generally come in plastic strips or as paint-on applicators. Our at-home kits here at Friendly Dentistry are custom fit to your mouth, meaning they mold to your teeth, thus helping you achieve improved results.
• How lasting whitening treatment options are: The active ingredients that break down stain-causing substances on your teeth only last about 30 minutes on store-bought teeth whitening strips or trays because it easily mixes with a user’s saliva. The combination of the custom-fit trays and professional-grade bleaching solution we provide you with in your at-home whitening kit lasts hours in comparison, meaning it whitens more deeply and quicker than a store-bought option ever could.
• Results vary: A common problem individuals who have used retail-bought kits report is a lack of uniformity of results. This happens because over-the-counter whitening strips or trays are one-size-fits-all instead of being custom fit to you. Additionally, it’s possible for someone to apply the bleaching solution unevenly or for it to react differently to saliva, thus causing an inconsistent look. Know that once you have different discolorations attributable to over-the-counter kit use, it’s really hard to reverse that. You can rest assured knowing that professional teeth whitening trays like the ones we send home with you produce uniform whitening when used as directed. 
• Safe use: Many patients who come to us for help do so after having failed attempts at using store-bought kits. They often complain that they are suffering from increased teeth sensitivity caused by the bleaching solution eating away at their teeth. Another complaint we often hear about these over-the-counter kits is the whitening solution causes gum irritation. Professional grade products like the ones used in the at-home teeth whitening kits we offer at Friendly Dentistry are subject to heavier scrutiny by government regulators and thus are tested to ensure they’re safe, so the chances of gum irritation are minimal.
• More effective: The bleaching solution used in at-home professional teeth whitening kits like ours is strong, which is necessary for breaking through the toughest stains and achieving the brightest and whitest possible teeth. 

How Our At Home Teeth Whitening Kit Can Help You

If you want a whiter, brighter smile, don’t waste money purchasing over-the-counter kits. Instead, consider scheduling a cleaning and impressions one with the many talented Greensboro dentists and dental hygienists on our team. 

Many of our teeth whitening patients initially came to us at Friendly Dentistry with severely stained or discolored teeth. They were too embarrassed to grace others with their smile. After a few short weeks of using our at-home teeth whitening kits, things had significantly changed. With their white teeth restored, they felt more confident, giving them a new lease on life. 

So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today to get your appointment on the schedule. We’re eager to serve you!