Getting your teeth professionally bleached by a dentist ensures a boost to your self-confidence while improving the appearance of your smile. Everyone notices celebrities flashing dazzling smiles and wonder what the stars do to keep their teeth brighter and whiter. However, the reality isn’t challenging to identify because most are getting teeth whitening from their dentist whenever necessary.
Keeping your teeth appearing brighter to give you a dazzling smile is not a significant challenge comfortably accomplished by getting in-office teeth whitening treatment from a dentist or using at-home kits to achieve your goal. However, it helps if you remember this process also has its downsides in the form of sensitivity developing after teeth whitening.
Why Does Teeth Sensitivity Occur after the Whitening Process?
If you are looking to understand sensitive teeth, it is essential to consider the working of this process to whiten your teeth. The surface of your teeth receives a bleaching agent during the treatment. The bleaching ingredient whitens the tooth structure instead of lifting the stains.
When the whitening ingredient penetrates the tooth structure layers, it seeps beneath the enamel the hard outer surface of your teeth to reach the dentin. The bleaching ingredient heightens sensitivity during the whitening process because the dentin is porous, and the solution affects the dentinal tubules. Dentists are aware of this problem and ensure they provide teeth after whitening tips to make sure you can easily overcome the sensitivity.
How Long Will You Experience Tooth Sensitivity?
Sensitivity after getting your teeth whitened lasts for a few days. You may experience heightened sensitivity during the initial 24 hours, with improvements noticed each day. The sensitivity no longer concerns you by the end of a week.
While the sensitivity temporarily concerns you, there are strategies to cope with the discomfort by contacting the teeth whitening dentist or using at-home remedies for help.
Strategies to Cope with Sensitivity after Whitening Your Teeth
Use a Tooth Desensitizer after the Whitening Process
After the whitening process, dentists place a tooth desensitizer on your whitened teeth. The desensitizer reduces sensitivity during the initial 24 hours after treatment when it is generally the worst. However, you receive the desensitizer on your teeth only when you obtain the whitening treatment from your dentist instead of relying on over-the-counter whitening products.
Adjust Your Diet
Another strategy to reduce sensitivity is after the treatment is to adjust your diet for a few days. You must rely on soft foods and smoothies and avoid crunchy, crispy, or tough foods. Complex foods require pressure to bite and chew, resulting in discomfort. You can ease back to your regular diet when the sensitivity fades.
Avoid Scorching or Freezing Foods and Beverages
Besides avoiding crunchy foods, you must also avoid foods and drinks that are extremely hot or cold. You will experience sensitivity because of these temperature extremes. Instead, have a diet of lukewarm foods and beverages to ensure your teeth do not experience sensitivity.
Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth
After getting your teeth whitened, you must maintain acceptable oral hygiene practices even if you experience tooth sensitivity. You can reduce the discomfort by using toothpaste for sensitive teeth. There are many varieties available on the market to reduce bouts of acute sensitivity. The products work fine on teeth whitened with bleaching ingredients.
Use a Soft Bristled Toothbrush
Do not consider using any toothbrush but one with soft bristles because they are gentler on your teeth and gums and help reduce the symptoms you experience.
Do Not Overuse Whitening Products
If you are trying at-home whitening treatments, ensure the remedies are dispensed by your dentist and not over-the-counter products. For example, dentists provide low concentrations of gels for whitening your teeth, but the same is not true of over-the-counter products. Using the whitening ingredients excessively to achieve faster results and potentially make your teeth incredibly sensitive damage them.
Procedures for whitening teeth are trendy, with many people seeking treatment to remove stains from their teeth. Unfortunately, instead of seeking professional treatments from dentists, many people purchase over-the-counter remedies because of their lower prices. Although products are available in the market have improved significantly than earlier, it is best to receive the whitening treatments from a dental professional with comprehensive knowledge about dental anatomy to stay free from the problems associated with this process.
If sensitivity after teeth whitening from a dentist persists or worsens, contact the dental professional immediately because you may have other infections or cavities in your teeth.