Did you know there’s such a thing as too much tooth whitening?

Excessive tooth whitening could turn your teeth to mush

Studies have found that whitening your teeth can help to make you look younger: other studies have shown whiter teeth can increase your chances of getting a job and landing that second date.

But what those studies don’t address is the adverse effects of tooth whitening…

Tooth whitening by a qualified dentist is generally the safest and surest way to brighten up your teeth. A dentist can assesses your oral health and determine the best treatment for you.  But not all who provide teeth whitening are qualified dentists.

Teeth whitening isn’t always the best treatment

The cause of discoloured teeth is not always straightforward. For some patients the reason for discolouration is cosmetic—in which case tooth whitening would be the ideal treatment. However, if the cause of discolouration is intrinsic (the stain is within the tooth) then no amount of bleaching is going to have any effect.

Intrinsic tooth discolouration

These types of stains can happen due to of trauma to the tooth, root canal therapy or an excessive ingestion of fluoride during tooth maturation. If your tooth is discoloured because of one of these factors Carnegie Dental Group offers a range of cosmetic and restorative treatments to help with the appearance of your smile. Some of the treatments we offer include:

• Veneers
• Crowns

Bleachorexia: turning your teeth to mush

It’s not a medically accepted term: yet. But bleachorexia has been coined by the media for those who have an obsession with having white teeth. And as one clinical psychologist put it: the keyword here is obsession.

But dentists are warning patients that too much teeth whitening could slowly turn your teeth into mush. This happens due to the erosion of the enamel: and when it’s gone, it does not grow back.

Moving away from an unnaturally bright smile

Your Carnegie Dental Group dentist can determine the best treatment for you. Whether it be tooth whitening treatment or porcelain veneers, we will assess your oral health and determine the best course of action for you.

Yellow teeth aren’t synonymous with bad health—sometimes it speaks to a proclivity for coffee or tea. Sometimes it’s unavoidable. When seeking treatment what you should consider is: how does your smile suit your face.

For some of our patients all they have needed is just a little bit of whitening to take off that yellowish tinge. But they haven’t walked away with glaringly white teeth. For other patients it’s been a little teeth whitening and a porcelain veneer or two.