BRIGHTENING A DULL SMILE
Have you noticed that your teeth have gotten duller and dingier as you've
gotten older? I've certainly found that mine have been getting darker and
less attractive since I hit Midlife and I wasn't sure whether I was just
being vain or whether I wanted to get serious and do something about it. I
used to be a Dental Therapist/Hygienist in my younger days, and I also
worked for an orthodontist for many years. Teeth are something that I'm very
aware of - and I also know how much it can cost to get a fabulous
smile.....A LOT!!
Dentistry is very expensive when it comes to anything that comes under the
banner of "cosmetic" - porcelain crowns, porcelain veneers, in-chair
whitening treatments etc - it runs into thousands and thousands of dollars -
and I wasn't prepared to spend a fortune on something that bothered me but
wasn't really that noticable to others - it's just a First World
problem....but it really did affect me and I was starting to not smile as
often because I was so conscious of how dull my teeth were looking.
WHAT CAN DENTISTS DO TO MAKE YOUR TEETH WHITER?
Fortunately the dental background I have gives me a headstart in knowing
what options are available. I wanted to get my top six teeth smoothed over
(I'd worn them down from over-brushing for decades) and I wanted them to
look lighter and brighter. I didn't need a glossy white Hollywood smile like
the woman in the picture above, and I certainly didn't want to have them
ground down to little nubs to have crowns (caps) fitted - it would be such a
shame to destroy perfectly good teeth to create a whiter smile.
|
| A tooth cut back ready for a crown |
Dental crowns are also quite expensive - around $1500 each - so for my
front six teeth that would be - 6 X $1500 = $9000....Wow! That is a
ridiculous amount of money to spend on a bit of smile brightening. So what
were my alternatives? Next down the track were porcelain veneers. These are
like a false fingernail - the front of the tooth gets cut back a bit and the
veneer is attached to the new front surface. They're slightly less expensive
(still $1000+ per tooth though - that's $6000+ in total for me) and less
destructive to my teeth, but still a lot of money and a lot of invasive
dental work for a little bit of vanity on my part.
|
| Porcelain veneers - like a false fingernail for your tooth |
SO WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE ON A BUDGET?
I didn't want to waste time with home whitening kits - they really don't do
a great job unless you're looking for very minimal changes. By far the best
results come from seeing a professional and having the whitening done in the
dental chair. When I finally took myself off to talk to
a dentist who I trusted
to give me good advice, and who I knew would do excellent work, he gave me a
different alternative - one that would lighten and brighten my smile,
destroy less "virgin" tooth surface, AND not break the budget. That ticked a
lot of boxes for me - and this is what he proposed.....
A two stage process - the first step was a 1½ hour visit to have
Zoom whitening
done on my upper and lower front teeth in the dental chair - four 15 minute
applications to brighten my teeth up - I didn't want Hollywood
glow-in-the-dark white teeth - just lighter than what I currently had. Zoom
is done by applying a whitening gel to the teeth, and then activating it
with a blue UV light. It's pain free and surprisingly comfortable. You get a
few little "zings" in sensitive areas, but nothing that I would rate as
painful. Within an hour my teeth were a few shades whiter and ready for the
second stage - which needed to be done two weeks later. The Zoom treatment
cost me around $500 (although I've heard people can be charged up to $1000 -
so it's worth checking quotes).
|
| The UV blue light activating the whitening gel |
THE SECOND (AND FINAL STAGE)
If you had nice front teeth with no fillings or wear and tear (just the
dullness from aging), the Zoom whitening would be all you need. But, if
you're like me and you have worn down enamel around the gumline from
overbrushing etc then the next step that was recommended was to have
composite veneers done. This is where they cover the worn down parts with
white filling material that matches the new tooth colour and is bonded to
the front surfaces. There was a two week wait in between while my teeth
settled down and the colour stabilized (they actually get a bit lighter over
the next couple of days after treatment).
My second appointment was even better than the first - no injections with
either appointment, and no drilling either (bliss!) My front teeth were
etched, bonded, and then the filling material was placed over the worn down
top third of my teeth - this helped improve the colour match and smoothed
out all the worn down sections. It's light cured with the same blue UV light
technology and then polished up - and it was all done in less than an hour.
I've included a couple of before and after pics - it was hard to find a
"before" picture of myself with my teeth showing clearly because I rarely
take selfies and was always conscious of my teeth.
|
| Before and after - no filters or photoshopping - just me and my smile |
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you noticed your smile isn't all it used to be? Have you wondered
about taking the plunge and doing something with your front teeth? All up my
two step process (plus a consult and scale and clean) cost less than one
porcelain veneer or crown - definitely money well spent in my opinion.
RELATED POSTS
-
Quite An Informative Zoom Review
-
Dentistry On Marlston (where my dental work was done)
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical/dental professional. This post should not be taken
as specific dental advice, it relates only to my own dental health and
what I’ve experienced about teeth whitening for myself. I advise you
to speak to your own dentist before proceeding with any
treatment.
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