Do teeth whitening or not?

1. Did you know that even the ancient Romans had all their home remedies for getting white teeth. This was done in ancient Rome with yes, urine!

1. So even then people were willing to give something to get white teeth.

1. The ancient Egyptians bleached their teeth with a mix of pumice and wine vinegar, so you could say that teeth whitening has always been around.

1. Having beautiful white teeth radiates beauty, care and health. Actually weird, because in general slightly yellowish teeth are the healthiest.

1. Anyway, since white teeth are seen as ideal by everyone, this is what we all strive for. And good health is not only healthy eating and living, it is also important that you feel good.

Cause of yellow teeth

1. Prevention is always better than cure, so if you still have beautiful white teeth, or you have just bleached them, you want to keep those teeth white for as long as possible. Most everyone starts their life with a nice set of white teeth.

1. Unless you have had certain medications as a child, such as a strong course of antibiotics or you have had a severe fever, this will not provide your teeth with a good enamel coating and when your teeth come through they are yellow and weak, the so-called cheese tooth.

1. In addition, good oral hygiene affects the whiteness of your teeth. Brush your teeth twice a day, and floss well, then you know it's not that.

1. A common cause of a discolored tooth is that the tooth is dead. A dead tooth will turn gray or yellow over time, and this can only be prevented by internally bleaching the tooth immediately after root canal treatment.

1. It is also possible that you sleep with your mouth open at night. Maybe you don't even know yourself. But because you breathe with your mouth open all night, your teeth dry out, this is one reason why your teeth lose their beautiful white shine more quickly because the enamel deteriorates.

1. Nutrition also plays a big role on the color of your teeth. Food and drink that causes yellow teeth is:

White stains on your teeth

1. The other way around you can also get a color difference, your teeth show those very white spots. The cause of this can also lie in your childhood. You may be exposed to too much fluoride, this is called fluorosis.

1. A high fever in your youth can also cause the enamel on your teeth to develop an abnormal build-up and therefore show white spots. Of course, sugar and bad brushing can also cause white spots on your teeth.

1. Sugar in your mouth feeds bacteria that attack your enamel and you can also get those white descaling spots.

1. So your teeth can get white spots as well as turn yellow. If you also smoke, your teeth will naturally get extra brown, just like your lungs.

1. Anyway, you don't have those shiny white teeth that movie stars have, but you'd like to do something about it, what are your options? As always, every advantage has its disadvantages and the disadvantage of whitening your teeth is that they become sensitive and it is of course not beneficial for the tooth itself.

1. Let's just say it doesn't make them any stronger.

Your teeth and your confidence

1. But just the health or strength of your teeth doesn't tell you everything. What is more important is that you are happy with your teeth. Look, I don't have perfect teeth myself, but I am satisfied.

1. When I look in the mirror I don't see any whiter or more yellow teeth or a tooth that stands out, aka just Malcolm in the middle, nothing noticeable.

1. But things change when you don't feel good about how your teeth look. If your teeth are very yellow, it could be a dent in your ego. It affects your self-confidence and it will stress you subconsciously.

1. Perhaps it gets in the way of your performance because, for example, you want to be seen less in networking or that you try to avoid presentations because you try not to show your teeth.

1. In reality you may be very smiling but because of that yellow tooth you don't smile and people think you are a bitch.

1. I'm saying this because it can actually happen, I'm not exaggerating.

1. A good friend of mine had beautiful teeth except for one front tooth, which was slightly more yellow than the rest. And she was quite bothered by that. It made her feel insecure about her job and every time she saw a picture of herself, of course she saw only 1 thing, a huge yellow tooth!

1. Now you can say you look fantastic and that one tooth nobody sees. The fact is that many people immediately look at your teeth when they first meet you. Like it or not. And that feeling can haunt you.

1. It is funny that in research into whether people think someone with white teeth is more handsome, this appeared to make no significant difference. Yet 40% of people thought they were more handsome when their teeth were whiter.

1. That whitening your teeth is more something for your own self-confidence seems to be confirmed by this research.

1. Even Enrique Iglesias had that mole on his cheek removed years after he became famous. The whole world was already used to that birthmark, but it apparently bothered him anyway. It can be the same with teeth.

1. I have known the lady with the discolored tooth for about five years now, and in those five years the tooth we are talking about has slowly turned yellow. And there was less laughter with every additional shade of yellow. This happened very unconsciously and very subtly.

1. But now that I think back to it, that yellow tooth has caused a huge change in spontaneity and character.

1. Luckily she also realized that her mood and the way she interacted with people was decreasing subtly. At first she doubted whether it was really that tooth or whether it was something else. But it wasn't.

1. So that's why that friend of mine even had a facing done because bleaching didn't help. Because what was the case, she had fallen into sports in her youth, flat on her front teeth. So tooth loose, tooth dead and immediately given a root canal treatment and an internal bleaching.

1. But over the years the dead tooth became more and more yellow, so eventually I made an appointment with the dentist to do something about it. As it turns out, the yellow tooth was not the dead tooth treated in childhood, that was the tooth next to it, neat white.

1. The yellow tooth was also damaged by the accident, but that was never noticed in all the commotion. So the yellow tooth is slowly dissolved by the body, as it were, you can also see it in the picture of the teeth that the yellow tooth has barely a root left.

1. So she could brush until she weighed an ounce, that tooth became more and more yellow.

1. And because that tooth was completely yellowed and dead as a stone, nothing helped either. So then there had to be a facing, and such a facing on your front tooth is exciting.

1. Fortunately she had a very good dentist and he managed to get the color perfectly, which was not easy, all teeth were slightly yellow, the dead tooth was just a shade whiter and then the facing match with both whiter and yellowish teeth.

1. And now that the yellow tooth has been banned from her life, she appears in every photo with a big smile. That that facing has been well worth his money. Because your mental state, just being comfortable in your own skin, you can't put a price tag on.

1. Well, in this case the price tag was 600 euros, but a large part of that was reimbursed by the health insurance company because that tooth was caused by an accident before she was 18. Good luck and bad luck.

1. But even if a health insurance company does not reimburse it, you can consider whether this summer vacation cannot be skipped and that money can be used for your teeth. This may sound strange, but being healthy is so closely related to how good you feel, that things that you would say you just shouldn't be vain can have a huge impact on how you feel.

1. And unlike losing weight, you can really cheat your teeth, you can buy beautiful white teeth. You have to work hard to save the money, but it is doable.

1. So if you want white teeth, keep in mind that any dead teeth, veneers, crowns and fillings will not stain, you should be aware that not everything can be bleached.

1. Coming back to those super white Hollywood teeth, which are usually crowns and veneers, normal teeth don't get that white. I always wonder if those Hollywood stars light up when they laugh at the disco or nightclub under the UV lights, such a beautiful luminous smile ...

How are teeth bleached?

1. Nowadays teeth are bleached with bleach, a big improvement over the Romans. If you want something whiter, hydrogen peroxide is often used, the same substance that also bleaches your hair.

1. The more hydrogen peroxide, the more powerful the result. And all the more painful. You have to realize that teeth whitening is not completely without pain. You can get blisters on your gums. But your teeth themselves can also become very sensitive from that bleaching. This pain can last for a few days. It can even give you a headache.

Teeth whitening at home

1. You can choose to go to the dentist to whiten your teeth, you can also buy sets that you can put on your teeth at home. These cost around 50 euros and you can lighten your teeth one to two shades. Especially if your teeth are yellow from the plaque, such a self-whitening set in combination with a visit to the dental hygienist can help a lot.

1. And of course quit smoking, your car's exhaust will always be dirty, your teeth even if you keep smoking ...

1. The limitation of those do it yourself sets is that there is only a fraction of the hydrogen peroxide in it, so you can't hurt yourself at home. These sets usually contain only 0.1% hydrogen peroxide.

1. To achieve the same result as the dentist, you have to bleach very often, and the effect will still be less. Bleaching thoroughly once with up to 6% hydrogen peroxide has much more effect than bleaching 60 times with 0.1% hydrogen peroxide.

1. So it kind of depends on how yellow your teeth are, and of course how white you want it. Do you like natural white or do you want Gerard Joling white?

1. I personally think you should leave the church in the middle. Unlike people with more than enough money for dental costs, you have to be careful with your teeth and you should not make it too white.

1. Teeth whitening is not healthy for your teeth, it is healthy for your confidence.

Teeth whitening dentist

1. The dentist may use a much stronger bleach than you can apply at home. As mentioned, the dentist can bleach six times as strong as you can at home yourself. If you want your teeth to be really white, it is better to go to the dentist. The dentist can also better estimate how white your teeth should be without getting too much color difference compared to your fillings, veneers and crowns.

1. Just like with a nice old-timer you would rather not want a color difference, an even color is perhaps even more important than just how white.

1. Now a trip to the dentist is a lot more expensive, count on at least 300 to 400 euros, which can at least guarantee you a good result.

1. I do see advertisements of 59 euros, but if you look at what a dentist can declare per hour to the health insurance company, 59 euros is very cheap. So I think that those 59 euros treatments are to good to be true.

1. So let's assume a slightly more expensive treatment of 300 euros, a lot of money. But on the other hand, the dentist does have the means to actually whiten those teeth. In practice, discoloration of food and smoking in particular appears to be easy to lighten by several shades.

1. Do not expect miracles, a dead tooth will no longer be able to conjure up a dentist white, then you will really have to save for one facing, or several and it will be really expensive.

Finally ...

1. It is not recommended by dentists to whiten your teeth under eighteen. This has to do with the fact that teeth whitening is of course not beneficial for the strength of your teeth, especially in young people it affects the often unaffected enamel, and in young people bleaching rather affects the nerve of the teeth.

1. And of course it is also to prevent adolescents with unrealistic expectations from wanting to have their already white teeth whitened.

1. If your teeth are really yellow, the dentist will want to make an exception in consultation, it is really purely for young people who already have white teeth and want to damage their enamel unnecessarily. no to be able to sell.

1. When you are older your enamel is often not so undamaged anyway, so bleaching can be less harmful. The suffering has already been done, that's why those teeth are so discolored.

1. Teeth whitening is actually not good for your teeth, but it is good for your self-confidence. So you have to consider what you think is more important. Don't forget: good self-confidence is also good for your health.

1. Don't be afraid to invest in yourself either. Whether with nice clothes or good teeth, you are worth it.