Many people are concerned whether undergoing teeth bleaching is safe. Dental experts in Canada maintain that the use of 10 percent bleaching solution has not been found to cause changes to the tooth surface in any way whatsoever. Bleaching has been tested through microscopic research around the globe, and no side effects have been confirmed.

At the same time, it is misleading to argue that tooth bleaching has no negative effects. All bleaching agents cause some extent of sensitivity to the teeth. Hot and cold drinks, as well as air can cause tooth sensitivity. This should not surprise you. Some types of bleaching gels contain desensitizing components, believed to relieve this sensitivity following the procedure. It has not been proven whether desensitizers are actually effective. If your teeth are too sensitive, and you can’t bear it, it is best to stop using the bleaching solution for a couple of days. If you do so, it will disappear in up to 48 hours. There is no problem with stopping, because bleaching does not need to be done consecutively. Your teeth will be equally white regardless of whether you discontinue the procedures for a given term or do not, but it will take a longer period of time with the former. To alleviate the discomfort further, you should get desensitizing toothpaste such as Sensodyne or any toothpaste that contains potassium nitrate.

A common concern of many is the time it takes to whiten teeth. Experts inform that results vary. Sometimes it takes only a few days, other times – as long as several months. It takes less than 3 weeks most of the time. If you can choose a pre-procedure for more gray or yellow teeth, yellow is better and gives good results. With grey shade color teeth it can be very hard. It is difficult to bleach gray enamel that has been stained due to the intake of antibiotics. It can take up to several months before you see results.

Some experts warn against bleaching your teeth or using whitening strips while pregnant or nursing. There is no evidence of damage, but nonetheless it is not recommended to do this because no research has been done to prove it is safe.

Some dentists recommend teeth whitening strips, claiming that people are less likely to experience sensitivity from those as compared to using stronger bleaching processes. In addition, whitening strips are a cheaper option. You should know that people react differently to strips – some are quite happy with them, while they have been known to make some clients completely and utterly miserable and unhappy. If you want to learn more, go online and read reviews – you can see a lot of reviews about all kinds of teeth whitening products on consumer sites. You can also browse reviews by brand depending on what brand you are considering buying.

Now that your teeth are whiter, what is the proper way to take care of them? You are finished with the daily bleaching procedures that lasted as long as 4 hours. Can you brush your teeth now, and should you? What can you drink and eat, should you floss and rinse and if yes, how often and how?

Let’s start with rinsing. This should be done before you do anything else. Do your best not to swallow the gel. Use a mouthwash if your kit goes with one. If not, look for a product that contains fluoride. Fluoride is needed because bleaching results in demineralization of the tooth enamel (reduction of the mineral content), and fluoride helps reverse this process. It is necessary because your saliva reloads minerals, and the process is quite natural, but this takes at least half an hour, and before that your teeth are left unprotected. This is where the fluoride comes into play. Do not rinse with liquids that have acidic content or are colored, because these can be harmful. Consequently, you should not drink fruit juice, carbonated beverages, and other artificial liquids. Only water to begin with. Do not brush your teeth right after the bleaching session. Wait for at least 30 minutes. Then, brush lightly because your enamel is still vulnerable from insufficient minerals. When choosing a toothpaste, go for one that contains fluoride and potassium nitrate for teeth sensitivity.

As for eating and your daily menu, you should not consume anything right after the treatment for the same reason. Wait around an hour before you have a meal. Avoid very hot or very cold foods. Do not use colored mouthwash for 48 hours if your bleaching procedure took place in the morning or early afternoon. In that case, white toothpaste should be used. If the treatment was late at night, do not brush your teeth before going to bed. Do so the next morning. Again, do not use colored mouthwash or hard toothbrushes.

Drinks that leave tooth stains include all things carbonated, tea, coffee, coke, colored juices, etc. They also include all kinds of alcoholic beverages that are colored, especially red wines and all kinds of beer. Foods to stay away from in the next 48 hours are carrots, peas, sweet corn, broccoli, green beans, sprouts, mushrooms, beetroot, and tomatoes. Other foods to avoid are red or green lettuce, all fruits except bananas, bread, most sauces (especially the likes of Bolognaise), and all cream. You should avoid butter and margarine, as well as sweets and chocolate. Candy leaves stains and damages sensitive teeth!

Do not fret though! The list of allowed foods is lengthy as well. You can have skimmed milk, white wine, gin, vodka, tonic water, and sparkling water. You can have dry or boiled chicken of the fat-free variety, turkey, white fish, white rice, and white pasta with white sauce. Other products to choose from include cottage cheese, mashed, boiled, or baked potatoes (without the skin), and sugar-free chewing gum.

It is normal to have unevenly colored teeth after bleaching, but that depends on the extent to which it occurs. With time, the color will appear more even. Yet, the reason for uneven color may be what you do. It is important to avoid making some common post-bleaching mistakes, such as consuming foods and beverages that stain the surface of your teeth – soy sauce, coffee, wine, coke, etc.

Obviosly, any food that will stain a cloth is likely to stain your newly whitened teeth. If you simply cannot do without coffee, try drinking it in a way that it won’t touch your teeth, like through a straw. There is no set time over which you have to avoid consuming certain foods. You have to talk to your dentist about the specifics of this.

Sometimes this cosmetic procedure displays an uneven effect – some parts of the tooth become whiter than other parts. A number of causes have been associated with this. For example you might have been applying the whitening solution improperly. If you are buying tray-free generic materials from the drugstore, they lack the facility to stop the solution from pooling in one area and leave other parts of the tooth untouched. This is what causes uneven color. The solution, then, is to buy materials with a custom fitting tray. You can ask your dentist to recommend one. You may be left with splotchy teeth, and this will be an unfortunate result of your teeth whitening efforts.

Other bleaching that may result in uneven color are whitening strips which escape some parts of the tooth surface. In Canada, dental offices make custom trays that are appropriate to everyone’s specific tooth form and structure. Custom trays have a particular size thickness of a reservoir to control the amount of solution that is applied both at the gum line of the tooth and at the area where the incision is made. This leads to an even and more uniformed result. You also have to keep in mind that fillings, bridges and other artificial structures will not whiten; so, do not expect them to. You may consider asking your dentist to replace your fillings so that they match the white color of your teeth.

Alternatively, the structure of the tooth itself can stop a uniform color from developing. This can happen because as the gums go down on a tooth, the white part becomes visible and the enamel thins out more and more. The root is sometimes yellow, and this can show under the white. In this case, it is recommendable to get your cosmetic dentist to put a veneer or a white filling to cover the yellow root. This way, the full set of teeth will be a brilliant, uniform white. Moreover, it is not as much work as it sounds!