If you want your teeth whitened, you may think immediate treatment is your best option. Why wait to make your grin brighter, shinier, and more pleasing to look at? However, the truth is that you should consult your dentist before any teeth whitening starts in earnest. Doing so comes with many perks that make your final care more effective. As proof, here are four great reasons to consult your dentist before you do any teeth whitening.
To Learn Why Your Smile is Stained
By consulting your dentist first, you’d learn why your smile is stained. That knowledge would help you get the right kind of whitening.
Remember, smile stains don’t just have one possible cause. Many factors – including biology, aging, lifestyle, and medicine – can cause them over time. If you see your dentist for evaluation, they’ll help you determine the root cause of your smile’s dark coloring. From there, they can suggest the bleaching procedure that best serves your needs.
To Ensure a Safe Treatment
Safety is another reason to talk to your dentist before whitening. By getting their thoughts, you’d ensure your treatment doesn’t harm your teeth or gums.
The fact remains that teeth whitening products use strong bleaching gels. If applied carelessly, such chemicals could damage your tooth enamel and gum tissue. Professional advice would reduce the risk of such harm and make the whitening process safer for you. Plus, a dentist can offer help on how to use whitening products properly and oversee your treatment.
To Minimize Tooth Sensitivity
Do you want a pain-free whitening? Well, consulting your dentist first would make tooth sensitivity after treatment less likely.
The gel used for whitening isn’t without its share of side effects. If you have prior oral problems or thin enamel, this “goop” could make your teeth more sensitive than usual. That said, a chat with your dentist would determine whether whitening suits your oral health. It’d also let you know about desensitizing products you could use, which would make your procedure easier.
To Get Optimal Results
You likely want your whitening to brighten your smile as much as possible. Thankfully, consulting your dentist beforehand would help you get optimal results.
Modern dentists are experts on safe and effective teeth whitening. If you talk with them, they’ll advise you on the best bleaching solutions and techniques that’d yield the right effects. You’d then get the desired tone of whiteness and have more enduring results! Even better, a dentist could suggest ways to keep those results around for the maximum amount of time.
Given the points above, you’d do well to consult your dentist before teeth whitening. Make sure to see them ahead of your cosmetic dental journey!
About the Author
Dr. Bobby J. Carmen is a dentist based in Norman, OK, having earned his DDS from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Dentistry. He and his staff have been offering preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dental care for over twenty years! You can thus trust him to make your smile thrive for many years to come. Today, Dr. Carmen practices at his self-titled clinic and is reachable on his website and by phone at (405)-364-2200.