Unhappy With Your Badly Stained Teeth?

Whiter teeth with rapid whitening or dental veneers.

Discoloured teeth are one of the more straightforward cosmetic dental problems to resolve, and also the most common. Because losing the whiteness of our teeth is inevitable, unless we intervene, it is something that everyone will suffer from at some stage in their lives. We should be clear that this in no way reflects the care that patients take of their teeth. Whilst it is true that poor oral health care and habits such as smoking have a major effect on our teeth, the reality is that teeth darken naturally as we get older.

Because it is the inner part of our teeth that darken, no amount of ‘scrubbing’ our teeth when we brush will alleviate this; in fact, the most likely outcome of doing so is damaged enamel.

What can be done?

There are two approaches to attaining whiter teeth. The most well known and simplest is the teeth whitening procedure. Generally, we advise patients to have this procedure in the first instance as it is non invasive and, generally, very effective. In some cases though, it is obvious beforehand that a teeth whitening procedure will have a limited effect at the very best. This is generally the case where a patient has been a heavy smoker or has consumed a lot of tea or red wine over a period of time. Whilst a whitening treatment may improve it a little, it is unlikely to do so to the patient’s satisfaction.

Even with some teeth that would otherwise benefit from a tooth whitening procedure, there may be factors which mean that it is not an appropriate treatment. Small chips on a tooth, along with hairline cracks that sometimes develop over time, detract from the appearance of the tooth and a whitening treatment would simply highlight these.

Dental veneers

Where staining is very severe or chips and cracks are present, we recommend that our Burton patients have dental veneers fitted. These are very fine layers of porcelain that are used to replace the equivalent thickness of the surface of the patient’s affected teeth. This does necessitate the removal of a fine layer from the front of the affected teeth, but it is a relatively straightforward procedure and done using a local anaesthetic. Patients of Alexandra Dental Care also benefit from the use of our CEREC technology which means that the veneers are produced from a 3D scan whilst you wait. This avoids the need for temporary veneers and an extra visit to the dentist.

Once produced, the veneers are attached to the prepared teeth with dental cement. With care, they should last for ten years or more and, as they are made from porcelain and stain resistant, should remain white for a long time ahead.

If you live in the Burton area and feel that you might benefit from dental veneers, please call Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347 to arrange a consultation with us.

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