At What Age Can Children Have Their Teeth Whitened?

Discussion The appearance of the teeth and mouth is part of what determines facial attractiveness which plays an important part in social interactions. It has been found that “…an aesthetically pleasing smile…depend[s] on tooth color, size, shape, and position, upper lip position, visibility of the teeth and amount of gingival display.” The attractiveness is obviously complex, but tooth color is one of the most important factors and most people would like pearly white teeth. Dental “…”whitening” is any process that will make teeth appear whiter.” Non-bleaching products work to remove surface stains by physical or chemical action (usually dentifrices), and bleaching products which contain peroxide to remove surface or deep tooth stains. The bleaching products come in different forms including those placed into a tray around the teeth, painted on, or bleaching strips. The main bleaching products are hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide (which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and urea). Over the counter (OTC) bleaching agents often contain approximately 10% carbamide peroxide which is equivalent to ~3% hydrogen peroxide. OTC bleaching agents are intended to be used over 2-4 weeks for results and have a lower cost. There are professional products that are designed for home use with a dentist’s oversight with higher concentrations of bleaching agents. Professional products used in the dental office often have high...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news