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Q: Is Summer Time a Good Whitening Time!!

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A: It is the season of weddings, celebrations, and good ‘ole summer fun. A lot of pictures and videos are being taken, and those smiles will be showing! Bleaching/Whitening is a great option if you’re disappointed with the color of your teeth, but let’s take a deeper look into bleaching and how it works.

Your teeth are actually porous, kind of like a sponge. Stains like to collect in those porous areas and give a yellowish tint to your teeth. Of course, the more staining, the more yellow your teeth. The way bleaching works is an acid is introduced to those stains (usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide) which breaks up the staining. The pores are cleaned out, and the yellow stains are removed. This allows the natural tooth color to show and voila — bright, white teeth!

This treatment works best for yellow staining, but if your teeth have more of a grey tint, then bleaching doesn’t work as well. Grey tinting is more intrinsic, so it’s not as simple as breaking up stains in pores. Bleaching may work, but you will get more of a brightening affect instead of a whitening result.

If you do go ahead with a whitening treatment there are a couple potential side effects:

1.) Sensitivity - this can last anywhere from 1-3 days. The sensitivity is similar to having an ice cube on your tooth. Sensitivity will go away with time, but you can take Ibuprofen/Advil/Motrin or apply a Desensitizing Gel (the gel is usually given after a bleaching treatment in a dental office), both of which will help to alleviate the discomfort you may feel.

2.) Gingival Irritation – remember, an acid is being placed on your tooth and acids burn skin. With this in mind, a barrier is placed over the gums, but unfortunately, sometimes a little spot may be missed. After the procedure you may see a tiny white spot along the gum line. There is no need for concern as this is similar to a pizza burn. A couple days and some Orajel (if needed) will do the trick.

There are many options as to where to have teeth whitening or bleaching done:

1.) Dental Office – most dental practices offer in-chair whitening, which provides an immediate result. Plus, you are under the direct care of dental professionals so you know you are in good hands!

2.) At home kit purchased at your dental office - you will get materials that are not as strong as the in-chair whitening, but are stronger than over the counter whitening products. Results will be evident within about 3-7 days of application, but will not be as profound as the in-chair whitening.

3.) Over the counter products - similar to the take-home products you get at a dental office, but weaker. Typically results will be noticeable within 1-2 weeks. The results will not be as marked as the dental office products.

4.) In-chair outside of the dental office (for example, in a mall) – simply put, don’t do this. This is not provided by dental professionals and you participate at your own risk. Results are questionable and if either of the above side effects happen you are not under the immediate care of a dentist.  

Bleaching is a great way of brightening your smile, but make sure you are free of any dental ailments before doing so. And make sure to take care of those teeth so that you can spend Saturday night smiling wide for all those summer photos!

drsilvermanassociates.com 

Silverman & Associates University Dental Family Dentistry

Bellmore - 2592 Merrick Rd., Ste C, 516-781-9700

Bayside - 43-07 214th Place, 718-225-0515

Hello readers of The Herald!

My name is Dr. Matthew Siegel and I am a general dentist currently practicing at Silverman & Associates in Bellmore and Bayside. I grew up in Marlboro, NJ before becoming a Terp at the University of Maryland where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Science with an emphasis in Microbiology in 2008. Following college, I spent a year at the University of Connecticut Health Center studying gender differences in stroke and co-authored several publications. I then attended dental school at New York University, where I earned the Dr. Bernard E. Rudner Memorial Award for Demonstrating Superior Performance in Providing Oral Comprehensive Care and Administering a Dental Practice. I graduated dental school in 2013 and spent the next year at Lutheran Medical Center for a one year General Practice Residency. At the end of my residency I was honored to be awarded Resident of the Year. After all these great educational experiences I joined my father-in-law, Dr. Barry Silverman, at Silverman & Associates.

Dr. Silverman has been in practice for over 30 years in Bayside and over 15 years in Bellmore. He has spent his whole career only providing the best dental care in a comfortable, calm, and fun environment. The fun environment means a lot to me and I was excited to join his practices in the summer of 2014.  At Silverman & Associates family is very important to us, as you can see we are father-in-law and son-in-law working side by side. With that in mind we treat all of our patients like family as well.  Another goal of ours is to be your “one stop shop” for all your dental needs. We have three general dentists, two endodontists, one orthodontist, four hygienists, the best assistants, and the friendliest front desk staff ready to help you and all your dental needs. We can guarantee that you will always be greeted with a smile and treated with only the finest of dental care.