Most people become unsatisfied with the brightness of their teeth, at one point or another. Habits like drinking coffee and tea, and especially use of tobacco products, can hasten staining and discoloration, leading to teeth that look dingy and older than they actually are. And while there are many products on the shelves of drugstores, all of which promise to whiten teeth, not many are designed to provide drastic results. Products like whitening toothpastes, for instance, may take extended use to make even slightly noticeable changes in the teeth’s coloring. Unfortunately, overuse of many otherwise safe products can eventually cause damage to your teeth’s enamel? So what is a person unsatisfied with her smile supposed to do? Professional teeth whitening, provided by a cosmetic dentist, is meant to provide dramatic results in very little time, safely and effectively.

How to Know If It’s Time for Professional Treatment

If your teeth are not as bright as they used to be, and it has been at least six months to a year since the last time you whitened them, it is probably safe for you to explore your whitening options. But how do you know if professional treatment is necessary?

Here are just a few questions to ask yourself, when considering whitening treatment:

• Have you used an over-the-counter whitening product in the past?
• Did it fail to create your desired results?
• Did you follow the directions outlined?
• Did you experience heightened sensitivity during or after treatment?

If you answered yes to many of these questions, you might want to consider the smile enhancing benefits of professional whitening through your cosmetic dentist. Few over-the-counter options are going to be able to match the results that professional whitening treatment can provide, and even fewer are able to do so as quickly or safely.

If, on the other hand, your staining is not very severe and you have had success with an over-the-counter option in the past, it might work for you again. Just make sure to follow the directions, as outlined, and don’t use products repeatedly, or you risk damage to your enamel as well as heightened sensitivity.