How White Should I Bleach My Teeth?

Many celebrities would say that white teeth are essential, and you can’t have teeth that are too white. Whilst really white teeth can look good on film or television, they can in fact look a little artificial in real life. It is possible perhaps that over white teeth belong in the same category as overdoing it with the fake tan. It can make a person appear rather superficial and narcissistic. If you are considering having your teeth whitened you should also take into account that you really need a nice looking regular set of teeth to start with. Whitening your teeth will draw attention to them so if you have irregular teeth, a slightly twisted or crooked tooth, such flaws will only show up more. In addition, it is not possible to whiten fillings or crowns so if you have these in your teeth, these restorations may have to be redone after bleaching in order to match in with your other whitened teeth. There is a similar problem with white, grey or yellow spots that can occur on teeth. They may become much more noticeable after bleaching.

Provide you have a nice regular set of teeth without obvious flaws or restorations, bleaching the teeth by two or three shades can considerably improve your smile. When you start to have bleaching treatment by your dentist, whether it is in the surgery or undertaken by you at home with materials supplied by the dentist, you will want to have an idea of what can be achieved. Your dentist will show you a shade guide which has a range of up to about ten different colors that correspond to the shades found in normal teeth. Contrary to popular opinion, teeth are not just white, off white or yellow, but have subtle shades of yellow, grey, pink or brown in them. The bleaching of teeth will make them a lighter color within that shade range but will not change the basic tint. In other words, pinkish color teeth cannot be changed to light yellow teeth but only lighter colored pinkish teeth. This is not a disadvantage since it is the subtle shades in teeth that make them appear natural.

Most people will opt for the lightest shade in their colour range, but it may not always be possible to achieve this. The older a person is, in general, the darker their teeth become, and the more resistant they are to bleaching. It is reckoned that on average one can expect to achieve an improvement of two shades lighter with most forms of bleaching. Some dentists may claim an improvement of up to four shades lighter, but although this may be achieved in the short term, it is unlikely to be stable in the longer term. There is always some regression or dulling down over time, and after two to three years teeth are liable to be back to their original color unless further treatment is done.

It is therefore probably sensible to continue bleaching, assuming side effects are not too troublesome, for as long as necessary to achieve a lightening of up to four shades in the knowledge that this will revert to a level of about two shades lighter within a short time. A common shade for many people’s teeth on a well known shade guide is a light grey colour designated C3. If you were to have bleaching and end up with a shade of C1 you would likely be very pleased as this is an attractive but natural color.

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