Do I need tooth whitening?
I have been asked this question so many times. I can tell you that my answers have changed over the years. First of all we have to ask some precursor questions.
What is white? We look at someone's teeth and you see white, yellow and gray. (Sometimes you also see black but this is usually due to decay so whitening won't help that problem.) People have different shades of these colors in their teeth. Some people have yellower teeth, some have grey teeth. Children can have especially white teeth. There really is no such thing as true white when it comes to your natural tooth. It is made up of a combination of colors, brightness, intensities that give us the color of the tooth that we see.
The next question is what should the color of ones teeth be? Well when we couldn't do anything about it, as you grew older, your teeth yellowed with the years. Before whitening we would say to people that it looks natural for someone your age to have yellow teeth. If they really objected to the color of their teeth then we would place porcelain crowns on all of their teeth. Today, with whitening and so many people who have already whitened their teeth, we see more and more people of all ages with very white teeth. As we have gotten used to this, a new norm has been created.
Taking all of this into account, my answer to the original question is No you do not need whitening. Nothing will happen to you or your teeth if they are not white but if you want whitening I will be very happy to do it for you as more and more people today have whiter teeth.
All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
Having fun doing Dentistry in Hamilton Ontario
www.rondentist.com
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