Why Do You Need Teeth Whitening?

Do you know the enemy that causes tooth stains? It is quite
interesting to note that every tooth is comprised of an
inner dentin layer and a protective outer enamel layer
which is much harder.

Regular intake of food stuff, nicotine and caffeine tends
to form another coating over the enamel layer like a
pellicle film. This film can be removed chemically as well
as by scraping by a dentist.

Brushing helps to clean the teeth stains to some extent and
there are special abrasive toothpastes which help further
the process. Teeth whitening toothpastes are also available
which are effective in cleaning such stains on our teeth
enamel.

Our teeth enamel is porous in nature. Hydroxyapatite
crystals in the form of microscopic hexagonal "rods" make
up the enamel.

The accumulation of the foreign substances over the years
gets into the pores and settles on the inner layer where it
is very difficult to scrape them. Though these deep stains
are actually quite harmless, they do not look good.

Thus to get rid of these tough stains, people seek the help
of professional teeth whitening procedures.

During such teeth whitening procedures, a bleaching
chemical agent is used called carbamide peroxide or
hydrogen peroxide.

This is present in a tooth whitener and it triggers a
chemical - rather an oxidation reaction - which manage to
break the staining compounds.

The chemical compound carbamide peroxide breaks within the
mouth into urea and hydrogen peroxide.

The hydrogen peroxide plays a vital role in the teeth
whitening process.