Is Everyone Suitable For Teeth Whitening? Any Ideas?

Hello, DentAbroaders! It’s a great sun-shining day out here! How are you all holding up? Today’s topic is about who is suitable for teeth whitening and who is not. So, i’m gonna try to give some tips about this topic so that you can assess yourselves whether being suitable for a teeth whitening procedure or not. But, as always, remember that this is only to give you a rough opinion. Because only a dentist can tell whether you’re suitable for a teeth whitening or not!

Having that said, now let’s talk about how this procedure goes and what it requires to work well.

Teeth whitening procedure works on the teeth’s enamel mostly. This is why you have to have an intact enamel before the procedure. Whitening gels which are being applied onto your teeth’s enamel during the whitening procedure partially demineralize your teeth’s enamel. No need to worry ‘cause this a reversible condition if you follow the rules. Rules? If you want to know about those rules you can easily go to our article about “DOES WHITENING DAMAGE THE TEETH?” and know more about the rules. Now that we put aside the rules, i can continue to explain the rest. 

By saying “intact enamel” i mean there should be no decays, no worn-out areas, no snapped or broken parts on your teeth’s enamel. Otherwise, the whitening gel will affect badly and cause you an unbearable sensitivity. Your teeth’s enamel should be in almost perfect condition for the best results. But is this enough? Of course not. Let’s have a look at the other requirements.

If you’re already suffering from hyper-sensitivity then i’m sorry but that means you’re not suitable for teeth whitening as well. Whitening gel has a potential to create sensitivity even to the normal teeth, in this case, if your teeth are already hyper-sensitive then unfortunately teeth whitening is not the right solution for you.

I don’t wanna be the bad guy but do i even need to mention that you’re not suitable for the whitening if you’re at a too young age? Most dentists will turn down your request regarding teeth whitening if you’re, like, under eighteen or at least sixteen. For all the young fellas out there; 📣 be patient guys! At these early ages, teeth are more likely to be affected badly from teeth whitening due to their large pulps.

Now it’s time to be the bad guy for the people who are suffering from severe gum receding 👹. As your gum recedes your teeth’s roots become exposed. And the tooth surface is one of the most sensitive parts of a tooth. This is why you are not suitable for teeth whitening if you’re suffering from severe gum receding. However, small receding-areas can be covered by protective agents during the session and probably won’t be such a big deal. But you should keep in mind that it’s not possible to do so with severe recedings.    

I wish i could stop it at this point. But there are a few more conditions in which the whitening procedures don’t work. Now i’ll tell you about them and then i promise i’ll stop being this pessimistic!

If you already have a filling on the front surface of your teeth then the whitening will not work for you. Actually it can still bleach your teeth’s colour but whitening gels don’t bleach the colour of fillings. So, when you have the whitening, your teeth will get whiter but your fillings’ colour will stay the same. If the filling is on the front surface of your tooth then it will obviously catch the eye. This is why you can’t benefit from teeth whitening if you had fillings on your teeth’s front surfaces. Pretty much the same goes for the crowns and veneers. Teeth whitening procedure doesn’t work on your crowns or veneers. If you already have crowns or veneers then you should know that there will be a colour difference between your crowns/veneers and your natural teeth once you have the whitening session. If all your natural teeth have crowns/veneers on top of them then you can’t get them whitened by a teeth whitening session. However, there are some dentists who believe they can apply whitening gels on top of the crowns/veneers, still, their expectation is not to whiten the crowns/veneers. They just hope to remove the stains in between the crowns/veneers -if there are any. Then again, there’s no scientific data which shows the whitening gels could remove any stains. So we can basically say that the whitening session doesn’t work on the crowns or veneers.

When it comes to the teeth with root canal treatments, it is possible to whiten them but in a different way. Since those teeth with the root canal treatments don’t have any active and vital metabolism (they’re basically “dead” teeth), their whitening procedure is a bit different than the vital natural teeth. It might take a few sessions (and a few weeks) with your dentist but you can have them whitened eventually. Yaayy!! I can at least give some hope for some teeth, finally!

Don’t get that happy! I still have one more negative thing to say! 

It’s a rare condition but if you have severely discolored teeth because of any medication such as tetracycline then it might be impossible for those teeth to be bleached by teeth whitening. This is another condition that could make you not suitable for teeth whitening. But this is something your dentist should assess first. There are other options for these kinds of patients. Since these kinds of conditions are usually congenital, these patients are just unlucky. I love you guys all. Please consult your dentist and he/she sure will find a solution for you as there are many different treatment procedures designed especially for these cases.

So, DentAbroaders… It’s been a long and boring article, huh? Those who say “yes”, guys, i can hear you and it hurts, okay? I believe this has been an informative one. So, stop complaining! 

Now you know that if you’re at an appropriate age, if your teeth are intact and without any fillings or crowns/veneers, if you’re not hyper-sensitive and if you meet the above conditions then you are suitable for teeth whitening procedure. I know it’s not that easy, but nothing’s easy in this world.

I really appreciate you guys putting up with me this far. I really love each and every one of you. If you have any questions in mind, you know you can always contact us! Team DentAbroad will always be delighted to help you! Hope to see you in another one, fellas! Take care and don’t forget to brush your teeth! Cheers!