Summary
Bleaching refers to various methods of whitening a tooth or the entire dentition. Teeth discolour for very different reasons. The most common cause is the natural age of the teeth.
In the rarest cases, the colour of a young person’s teeth is as white as that of an older person. However, the intensity of the discoloration can also be influenced. Excessive consumption of tea or coffee leads to a faster darkening of the teeth.
Especially the regular consumption of black tea leads to a yellowish-brown discoloration of the enamel. Another important factor is the consumption of nicotine. Smoking over years causes the teeth to yellow extremely.
Furthermore, inadequate oral and dental hygiene leads to an increasing yellowing as well as the presence of diseases of the teeth (caries, periodontosis). If a tooth has to be killed after an inflammation of the nerves and before a root canal treatment, the enamel of the tooth usually also turns yellowish-brownish and thus stands out visually from the neighbouring teeth. Many different types of bleaching have been invented and tested.
The most common methods are chemical bleaching methods, in which a gel is applied to the teeth. The bleaching ingredient is hydrogen peroxide. The reaction between the gel and the tooth surface produces hydrogen radicals, which remove the colour from the tooth, making it appear lighter (oxidative process).
In the reductive process, a gel containing sulphur-containing molecules is also applied to the tooth. These deprive the tooth of oxygen, which leads to an apparent light colouring. In laser bleaching, the chemical process on the teeth is accelerated by a laser beam that is held onto the tooth to be treated.
The so-called homebleaching is carried out independently by patients at home over a longer period of time. An impression of the dentition is first made, which serves as a template for a dental splint. This splint is then filled with chemical gels.
The patient has to wear the splint regularly for several hours a day in order to achieve the desired effect. In the Walking Bleach technique, dead teeth are filled with a chemical substance before the final closure and the tooth is then sealed. After one or two days, the tooth is reopened and the substance is removed.
During this time the chemical has worked its way through the tooth wall from the inside out and bleached it. The durability of the bleaching result depends on the chosen method, lifestyle and tooth cleaning. If patients limit the consumption of tea and coffee, give up smoking altogether, practice regular dental care and have their teeth professionally cleaned by a dentist from time to time, a bleaching time of up to 2 years can be expected.
After this period, a post-bleaching should be carried out, but this can then be done more quickly and less expensively and at lower prices, as it is usually no longer necessary to use the large amount of bleaching agent as with primary bleaching. Bleachings also have risks and side effects. For example, irritation of the gums can occur after applying the gel.
Treatment of the superficial enamel can also lead to a temporary hypersensitivity reaction of the teeth. Parts of the bleaching agent are swallowed by the patient during and after application and in rare cases may cause irritation of the stomach lining or allergic reactions. The cost of bleaching is between 60 and 700 EUR depending on the method chosen and is not covered by health insurance.
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