strongsmilesdental.com

The official name for toothpaste is dentrifice, which means any substance intended to remove debris from teeth in order to prevent tooth decay. so they’re shiny and smooth, but using them too roughly can actually damage teeth by stripping away enamel, which makes teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay. While your dentist and the American Dental Association recommends toothpastes with fluoride for most people, there are fluoride free varities for those with a fluoride sensitivity. Fluoride is a natural mineral that helps prevent tooth decay and can even remineralize degraded tooth enamel.

Next, the hygienist may use hand tools to remove any smaller spots of buildup and to smooth out the tooth surface. It turns out that removing plaque and tartar during the ultrasonic scaling part of your hygiene visit is really what helps keep bacteria from adhering (plus your daily home oral hygiene routine, of course). That’s why some dentists and hygienists only do selective polishing, in which they only choose certain teeth to polish, such as those with superficial stains that didn’t get removed by the ultrasonic cleaning or hand tools. Polishing is not as important to preventing oral problems as the ultrasonic cleaning and manual removal of plaque and tartar and tooth-strengthening fluoride treatments.

However, if you aren’t ready to invest in a professional teeth whitening, you may be tempted to buy an at-home whitening kit at your local drugstore or pharmacy. Over-the-counter teeth whitening products use the same chemicals as professional teeth whitening products at the dentist. The difference is that the dentist uses a high concentration of bleaching chemicals over a brief amount of time, and the at-home kit uses a low concentration of bleaching chemicals over a longer period of time. One common problem that makes at-home whitening less effective than professional teeth whitening from the dentist is inconsistency in applying the treatments.

A gummy smile, where the gums cover more of the tooth than normal, can make teeth look small and make a person’s smile look more juvenile that they’d like. Luckily, cosmetic gum contouring (also called a gum lift) can re-shape gums, revealing more of the tooth crown to make teeth appear longer without actually having to change the shape or position of your teeth. Because gum contouring involves removing gum tissue (usually with a special dental laser), the dentist will use local anesthetic to numb your mouth during the procedure. Like veneers, a gum lift is a fast way to dramatically change the appearance of your smile.