A nice and frequent altercation between patient and dentist regards the effectiveness of tooth whitening. “Doctor my teeth are the same color”, this is a statement that happens to hear. How is the effectiveness of teeth whitening evaluated?
White teeth and whitening effectiveness
The ideal of the patient who chooses it professional whitening is linked to the images of TV, Instagram or glamor magazines. Teeth of a candid and brilliant white.
The promises to obtain a result identical to that of glossy magazines is often disregarded.
The frustration is greater when you rely on DIY remedies or products purchased online, in fact the effectiveness of tooth whitening is not measured with the standard parameter of white enamel.
Tooth color and effectiveness of tooth whitening
Teeth whitening, performed professionally, is a dental treatment capable of removing discoloration of the mineral surface of the teeth. Teeth stains can arise due to different causes:
- tooth wear;
- smoke;
- acid substances.
With tooth whitening, dental stains are removed.
Getting very white teeth is a result that does not depend exclusively on the effectiveness of tooth whitening, but also on the color and characteristics of the enamel, a condition that varies from patient to patient.
Translucent enamel
Translucency is a characteristic of a particular type of dental enamel, it is a type of translucent enamel that highlights the color of the underlying dentin.
Opalescent enamel
On the contrary, some patients may have a type of opalescent enamel, that is very compact and opaque, tending to white, which tends to completely cover the underlying dentin.
The parameter that defines the degree of translucency or opalescence is called the enamel value and can be very different from one subject to another.
Patients with a high value have a very white enamel, while patients with a very low value have a grayish enamel, because it shows the color of the underlying dentin.
Effectiveness of bleaching: preliminary assessment
The advantage of relying on a dentist for a professional whitening treatment is precisely the possibility of having a preliminary evaluation of the whitening effectiveness.
The dentist or dental hygienist, thanks to adequate tools, can analyze the value of the enamel, establish the degree of opalescence or translucency and then evaluate what the result of bleaching will be.
If the enamel is translucent tooth whitening will make it brighter, but it can never become pure white.
The opalescent enamel on the other hand, if subjected to a professional tooth whitening, can return to being glossy white.
A preliminary assessment of the enamel color and the effectiveness of tooth whitening can avoid the patient’s false expectations and a correct approach to treatment.
