Bleaching — Teeth Whitening

Well-cared-for, bright teeth are not only healthier but they are also considered more beautiful and attractive. Scientific research has repeatedly proven that people with white and well-cared-for teeth are considered healthier and more successful. The radiantly bright tooth color thus symbolizes vitality, health, joie de vivre, and success.

There are many reasons for having discolored teeth that are not pure white. Most people do not naturally have white teeth. Teeth also darken over the years. If the nerve of a single tooth has died – i.e., if it is a dead tooth – it usually darkens considerably more. The severity of this discoloration varies from person to person.

In addition to such individual requirements and predispositions, it is particularly important to take care of your own dental care. This not only includes oral hygiene at home, but also how often, for example, professional teeth cleaning is used. Various foods and beverages – including coffee, tea, red wine, tobacco, juices and some food dyes – promote the discoloration of teeth. Once these dyes are stored in the tooth enamel, even the best cleaning can no longer remedy the situation.

Nowadays, however, this process can be visually rectified by bleaching. Sometimes this treatment is also called teeth whitening; both terms are used to refer to the same process. Bleaching is offered in many practices today. Of course, we also offer this service in the Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl area.

Before teeth whitening, we perform a dental examination in our practice. If necessary, a professional tooth cleaning is carried out first. As a rule, the last teeth cleaning should not take place longer than six weeks before bleaching. Teeth should only undergo the whitening process if they are healthy and free from diseases such as tooth decay.

“Office bleaching” is the most modern form of bleaching. The patient comes to the practice for treatment and leaves a little later with a bright white smile. With office bleaching, the surrounding gums are first covered with a special protective gel. A whitening gel is then applied to the teeth. The brightening effect is activated with the help of a UV lamp. After ten minutes, the gel is rinsed off again, and the process is repeated. In total, this procedure is repeated three times, gently and systematically bleaching the teeth. The treatment is completed after about 45 minutes.

If patients receive dental prostheses in the frontal tooth region, it is often advisable to make these prostheses in a beautiful, bright white and to visually match any visible natural front teeth (if necessary) to the artificial teeth. This is also possible with office bleaching. Bleaching is performed until the respective teeth have the same brightness.

If the patient decides to undergo home bleaching, a dental laboratory produces one mouth tray for the lower jaw and one for the upper jaw. The patient receives a special bleaching gel from the practice, which they apply to the mouth trays at home in the evening before going to bed. The mouth trays are worn overnight, and the gel is slowly absorbed into the tooth enamel. Significant whitening results can be seen after approximately two to three weeks.

In recent years, home bleaching has become less popular, not least because this method puts a lot of stress on the gums. The mouth trays and the whitening gel they contain have intensive, long-lasting and daily contact with the gums, which affects them. Home bleaching is also quite time-consuming: the whitening process is slow and often results in light speckles instead of even bleaching. The bottom line is that home bleaching is also significantly more expensive. That’s why we no longer offer our patients the home bleaching option.

In principle, healthy teeth can also be bleached individually. However, simple measures are often not sufficient for dark dead individual teeth (devitalized teeth). Alternatively, a tiny hole is drilled into the tooth to be whitened from behind, into which a special whitening gel is inserted. The gel stays in the tooth for a limited time and is then removed when the desired shade is achieved. The drill hole is then sealed again using plastic. This makes it possible in special cases to whiten only an individual tooth in order to visually match the color of the rest of the row of teeth.

Bleaching is not associated with any side effects or harm, as scientific studies have shown. The procedure is completely safe – provided it is performed correctly by an experienced dentist. Teeth whitening can also be repeated at regular intervals without any concerns. A very small number of patients may experience increased tooth sensitivity for a short period of time after the bleaching for a maximum of 24 hours after the treatment

Bleaching is a purely cosmetic procedure and is therefore not considered a dental treatment. Therefore, there are no contraindications. Nevertheless, in our dental practices in Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern, we advise against tooth whitening or do not carry out any treatment in the following cases:

• Patients under the age of 18 years
• During pregnancy (from the third month)
• Very severe periodontitis
• Damaged crowns or tooth fillings

The durability of the whitening varies from patient to patient and is often dependent on the type and frequency of oral hygiene at home, individual genetics, how often professional teeth cleaning is carried out, and the lifestyle of the person with regard to the strongly staining foods and beverages listed above.

For optimal aesthetics and a bleaching result that lasts as long as possible, we recommend that our patients have their teeth professionally cleaned by a specialist at least every six months. Under these circumstances, they can continue to benefit from teeth whitening for many years.

The exact cost of teeth whitening depends on the type of bleaching and the personal condition of the teeth that are to be bleached. The costs of the procedure are not covered by either statutory or private health insurance companies. In contrast, the US-based TRICARE plan partially covers the costs.

If you would like to learn more about bleaching, we will be happy to advise you in advance during a no-obligation appointment at our practices in Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern. Contact us and make an appointment!

In our aesthetic dentistry practice, we consider bleaching, as well as professional teeth cleaning, to be a self-evident minimum standard for our patients. Your bright white smile and your satisfaction is our goal.