Overtime, your teeth can become discolored for a number of reasons, ranging from drinking too much coffee or red wine to simply being utilized every day to chew your food. With this regular use also comes a common unwanted aesthetic drawback—tooth discoloration. You have several treatment options through your cosmetic dentist when it comes to brightening your smile, including dental veneers and teeth whitening. Learn more about each and weigh the pros and cons as they pertain to your unique situation while reading on.
Professional Teeth Whitening
Professional teeth whitening is offered at home in the form of a kit. The trays your cosmetic dentist provides you with are custom-tailored to fit your unique smile, evenly dispersing the professional-grade whitening gel across your teeth. After about two weeks of daily use, you’ll be able to achieve a smile that’s up to eight shades brighter.
How Long Do Results Last?
Typically, professional teeth whitening results last for about six months, although in cases where you’re mindful of consuming stain-causing foods and beverages, they can last for as long as a year! As soon as you notice your results beginning to fade, you can touch them up at home by getting another kit from your cosmetic dentist.
Who is Teeth Whitening Good For?
Teeth whitening is great for patients who have both extrinsic and intrinsic dental staining, which just means surface-level and deeper discoloration. This can be caused by smoking or using tobacco products, taking certain medications, aging, and consuming certain stain-causing foods and drinks.
Veneers
Veneers are thin, durable sheaths that are secured over the visible surface of teeth to transform their brightness and appearance. The process takes place over the course of two visits to your dentist and two to three weeks due to the fact that each veneer is customized to fit the individual teeth that you’d like to restore.
How Long Do Results Last?
One of the greatest benefits of veneers is that they can last for between 10 and 20 years with good dental hygiene and maintenance, allowing for you to get long-lasting, reliable results that won’t require touching-up or replacing anytime soon.
Who are Veneers Good For?
The ideal candidate for veneers are patients who are looking to improve the appearance of discoloration that can’t be remedied with teeth whitening, or discoloration in addition to dental damage (like chips) and slight misalignment. They can completely rejuvenate the entire appearance of your smile, but due to their much higher cost than teeth whitening, they’re often not recommended for people who just want to brighten their teeth.
Making the Best Choice for You
At the end of the day, you’re the only person that can decide what cosmetic dental treatment is right for you! Fortunately, you don’t have to make this decision uninformed and on your own. Taking your smile goals, budget, and ideal timeline into account, your cosmetic dentist can help you determine which of the two treatments will best fit your needs.
About the Practice
Drs. Rhenu Sharma and John Ludu have multiple collective decades of experience and a commitment to providing top-tier cosmetic dentistry. They each take the time to inform patients of all of their treatment options and make recommendations based on each individual’s goals and circumstances. To learn more about veneers and teeth whitening, visit DuPont Family Dentistry’s website or call 253-964-7000 to schedule an appointment.