How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (2024)

How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (1)

Professional teeth whitening services are offered by cosmetic dentists as a way to improve the look of your smile by eliminating stains. A single whitening treatment can generally brighten your smile as many 9 shades from your starting tooth color. However, this level of brightness is not right for everyone. If you are considering having your teeth whitened, you may be wondering how bright you should whiten your teeth.

In order to decide how bright to whiten your teeth, you may want to consider a few things first. For starters, teeth are not naturally white. Instead, they can vary in color depending on genetics. To determine your natural teeth color, your dentist may use a shade guide. A shade guide shows four different colors with light to dark shades. They are labeled as A, B, C, or D. A represents teeth that are reddish brown in color, B represents teeth that are reddish yellow in color, C represents teeth that are gray in color, and D represents teeth that are reddish gray in color.

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How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (2)

Most people have a tooth color of A3, which means that the natural tooth color has a slight reddish brown color. When having their teeth whitened, however, many people believe that their teeth must be completely white after the procedure. White is considered to be the color of B1, which is a significant deviation from the natural tooth color. This means that when having your teeth whitened, you will need to consider not only how white you want your teeth to be, but how natural you want your smile to look.

How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (3)

Most cosmetic dentists recommend that you aim for a bright white smile that also has a natural appearance. Even whitening your teeth as little as 2-3 shades can make your smile brighter without drastically changing the color of your teeth. However, there may be some cases where brightening your teeth 4-7 shades may be the best option for your smile. When deciding how white to whiten your teeth, it is recommended to not pick a shade that is whiter than the whites of your eyes. This prevents your teeth from looking unnaturally white. It is important to know that while you can always get another whitening treatment to make your teeth brighter, you cannot easily undo over whitening.

Another thing you will need to consider is the fact that teeth whitening procedures only whiten the teeth and will not change the color of any restorations. Therefore, if you have fillings, crowns, inlays, or onlays, you will need to pick a shade that brightens your teeth while also complementing the color of the restoration. Otherwise your teeth may appear to be different colors. In some cases, you may also elect to have the restorations replaced after having your teeth whitened.

The presence of dark stains can also affect your decision about how bright to whiten your teeth. Certain dark stains may not be able to be entirely removed by teeth whitening. In some cases, these stains may even become more noticeable if the tooth color around them suddenly becomes lighter. Just like with restorations, you may want to avoid picking a shade that is too bright to avoid highlighting these stubborn stains. Additionally, you can also consider placing a dental veneer over a tooth that has been stained.

How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (4)

Dr. Admar holds dual certificates — a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in 2010 from India and a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 2014 from Canada. He is now a full time practicing dentist in Kamloops where he provides a variety of services. Dr. Admar spends hundreds of hours in continued dental education to stay up to date in cosmetic and implant dentistry and he has achieved several advanced qualifications.

How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (5)

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How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental (2024)

FAQs

How Bright Should You Whiten Your Teeth? - Empire Dental? ›

Even whitening your teeth as little as 2-3 shades can make your smile brighter without drastically changing the color of your teeth. However, there may be some cases where brightening your teeth 4-7 shades may be the best option for your smile.

How white should you whiten your teeth? ›

For most people, simply brightening up their smile by two to three shades creates a great improvement. Martin Zase, president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, recommends that people should try to obtain a tooth color that matches the whites of their eyes.

What strength should teeth whitening be? ›

These are the equivalent of 3.5% hydrogen peroxide and 5.7% hydrogen peroxide, respectively. Both gels will give you a fantastic white smile, but the 16% will get you there a little faster. If you suffer from sensitivity, the 10% is a better option for whitening your teeth.

What percentage is good for teeth whitening? ›

The concentration approved as safe and effective by the FDA and ADA for tooth whitening (10 percent Carbamide Peroxide) is similar to 3.6 percent hydrogen peroxide.

What is the best results for teeth whitening? ›

Option #1: In-Office Laser Whitening

This is one of the popular teeth whitening methods that some people believe is the most effective way to get a brighter smile. Using lasers and peroxide-based whitening agents in a professional setting, this teeth whitening method provides dramatic, lasting results.

What is the perfect shade of white for teeth? ›

If you're planning to get your teeth whitened professionally and are trying to choose a teeth-whitening shade, B1 and A1 are both excellent choices. They represent the whitest tooth shades that occur in nature—so they look natural—while giving you a radiant, healthy-looking smile.

Can yellow teeth become white again? ›

What Can Be Done to Whiten Yellow Teeth? If you're looking for a radical change in the coloring of your teeth, you need professional-grade whitening to get the job done. Your cosmetic dentist can provide treatment that penetrates deep into the enamel and removes years of stains with a powerful bleaching agent.

What strength opalescence should I use? ›

If you can see yourself, sleeping with a tray, then you should consider 10-15% strength as it will allow you to whiten overnight without burning your gums. On the other hand if wearing the trays at night isn't likely to happen then 20%-35% should be used.

Is 35% teeth whitening strong? ›

Opalescence PF 35 is the most powerful and effective tooth-whitening gel in the Opalescence PF line available on the market today. This monumental formula provides 35% carbamide peroxide content that produces the ultimate whitening power.

How long does Opalescence 16 last? ›

Opalescence PF Teeth. Whitening Features:

Two concentrations of teeth whitening gel for maximum treatment flexibility: 10% carbamide peroxide (10% CP ~ 3% HP) and 16% carbamide peroxide (16% CP ~ 5,8% HP) Convenient wear times as short as 4-6 hours per day, or as long as overnight.

How often can I use Opalescence 35? ›

The Opalescence refill kits are perfect if you already have bleached your teeth and need to touch up. Most individuals will do a touch up whitening every 3 to 4 months – depending on their personal habits. If you smoke, drink coffee, tea or red wine, you may need to touch up every 2 months.

Does swishing hydrogen peroxide whiten teeth? ›

When used carefully, it can be an effective way to whiten your teeth. But if used incorrectly — in concentrations that are too high or if used too often — it can cause serious and sometimes expensive tooth damage. If you choose to whiten your teeth with hydrogen peroxide, do so cautiously.

How to get super white teeth? ›

Seven Ways to Naturally Whiten Teeth
  1. Eat Strawberries. One of the simplest ways to naturally whiten your teeth is just by eating strawberries. ...
  2. Eat Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables. ...
  3. Brush After You Eat or Drink. ...
  4. Rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar. ...
  5. Apply Coconut Oil. ...
  6. Brush Your Tongue. ...
  7. Use Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide.

What whitens teeth really fast? ›

In-office whitening procedures like Zoom Advanced Power whitening can see immediate results because dentists use a 35% solution of hydrogen peroxide in conjunction with a "light source directly on the teeth to break up all the molecules that cause staining and discoloration," he explains.

What do dentists recommend to whiten teeth? ›

Carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide are commonly used in whitening interventions and can readily permeate dental hard tissues.

Why are my teeth not white after whitening? ›

Teeth can become temporarily dehydrated after using whitening strips. Your teeth may appear more yellow as a result of this dehydration because the enamel may become dry and lack moisture. Dehydrated enamel sometimes has a transparent appearance that makes the naturally yellowish dentin underneath visible.

How white should my teeth be after whitening? ›

How white will my teeth get after in-office teeth whitening? After the 30-60 minutes treatment, your teeth whitening may vary: from 10 to 15 shades whiter, to 2 to 5 shades lighter.

What color white should your teeth be? ›

To determine how white your teeth should be, look at the whites of your eyes. Those are a good reference to how your teeth should look like. If your teeth are significantly yellower than your eyes, then you may need to check in with your dentist.

How white are your teeth supposed to be? ›

We often use the phrase “pearly whites” to talk about teeth, so you might be surprised to know that healthy, stain-free teeth shades can actually range from pure white to yellow, or even reddish-brown.

Can teeth whitening be too white? ›

That said, it can also be overdone, leading to an artificially white and unnatural appearance to teeth. Many patients simply aren't sure when they should stop whitening. They'd like their teeth to look whiter but have a hard time identifying the right shade of white to aim for.

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