Whiter, brighter teeth can definitely help your smile look better, especially if your teeth are dingy, dull, or yellowed. Fortunately, getting that beautiful smile is a lot easier today with state-of-the-art professional teeth whitening tailored to your whitening goals.
At Novi Family Dentistry in Novi, Michigan, Abir Faraj, DDS, understands how a dingy, dull smile can take a toll on your confidence and self-esteem. She offers both teeth whitening treatments and state-of-the-art veneers to ensure you find a solution that suits your unique needs. Here’s how she can help.
Your teeth can look yellowed, dull, and dingy for lots of reasons. Foods and drinks with deep pigments are common causes of tooth discoloration, including coffee, tea, red wine, deeply-hued spices, and tomato products. Foods high in acids can contribute, too, by temporarily softening your tooth enamel so stains can penetrate more easily.
Other lifestyle habits, like poor oral hygiene and tobacco use, are common culprits too. Aging increases your risk of discoloration as years of wear and tear erode your tooth enamel. Even genetics can play a role in how white your teeth appear.
Some types of tooth discoloration affect the inner layers of your teeth. These include certain medications, like some antibiotics that are used for long periods of time. Chronic illnesses and metabolic diseases that affect your enamel can also make your teeth look less than brilliant.
Dr. Faraj and her team are committed to helping our patients enjoy whiter, brighter, healthier-looking smiles, regardless of the underlying cause of discoloration. That’s why we offer two primary solutions: teeth whitening and dental veneers.
Professional teeth whitening uses special solutions that are stronger and more effective than the products you can buy over the counter. Dr. Faraj offers both in-office whitening treatments and at-home treatments using custom-made trays.
In-office whitening takes just about an hour. During your visit, we use a special guard to protect your lips and make it easier to apply the whitening gel consistently.
Once the gel is applied, we use a special light to activate the gel so it penetrates more uniformly and deeply. The gel breaks up stains and lifts them away, leaving your smile 8-10 shades whiter in just one treatment.
For take-home whitening, Dr. Faraj creates custom whitening trays using impressions of your teeth. During each at-home treatment, you fill the trays with whitening solution and then wear the trays for a specified amount of time.
The custom trays hug your teeth, helping the whitening solution penetrate more consistently. The number of sessions you’ll need will depend on your whitening goals, along with other factors.
Applied to the surfaces of your teeth using a strong bonding agent, dental veneers are a good solution for teeth with deep discoloration that don’t respond well to whitening treatments. Dr. Faraj offers both porcelain veneers and composite veneers (also called bonding).
Porcelain veneers take two visits — one to prepare your teeth and one to apply your permanent veneers. These veneers are strong and durable, and their translucence reflects light just like a natural tooth. They’re also extremely versatile, used not only to hide discoloration but to treat broken, misshapen, or crooked teeth.
Composite veneers can be completed in one day. These veneers are applied directly to your tooth surface and shaped to blend in with your natural teeth. Composites have the advantage of being less costly than porcelain veneers, but they can stain more easily than porcelain and don’t last quite as long.
Having whiter teeth can dramatically improve the way your smile looks, and it can improve your confidence too. To learn how we can help your smile look its best, call 313-646-7903 or book an appointment online at Novi Family Dentistry today.
