Let’s face it; few if any of us develop pure white teeth –let alone shiny white. So what is it with this desire to turn our naturally colored teeth into something different?
What Color Is A Tooth’s Natural Color?
Like beauty color is often in the eyes of the beholder – particularly when it comes to the many varied shades of white. This will also be affected by external conditions such as lighting.
Teeth have a semi-transparent layer of enamel on top of an under layer of dentin. The enamel has a white shade whereas the dentin is darker and much less transparent. Both layers comprise calcified hard tissue which is similar to bone. Thus; the color that you see depends on the transparency levels and, at best, this would be an off-white color resembling bone.
Outside Influences
Whether we like it or not, many of our opinions relating to a person’s appearance are heavily influenced by what we see on TV, in the movies, or, in pictures in print media. However, such images are often far from natural; not only can the teeth be cosmetically enhanced; but, imaging technology can manipulate any type of picture. It is not so easy to manipulate the reality which is your personal smile.
Age And Size Matter
Female teeth are generally whiter than male’s; but, this is only because they are smaller and do not have so much darker dentin to be seen through the enamel. This is also why our first (baby) teeth appear whiter than our larger adult teeth. In fact, as we grow older; chemical changes and wear down on the enamel allow more of the darker dentin to become visible.
Surface Stains, Etc
Everything we eat, drink or otherwise ingest through our mouths passes around and over our teeth so it is no wonder that the teeth can become stained (by coffee, tobacco smoke and many other sources). Regular brushing will not always totally remove these stains; but, we can get back closer tour own personal natural white by having regular scrape and polish treatments at our regular dental surgery.
Bleaching & Other Teeth Whitening Methods
In Salinas and most other places; dentists regularly perform this simple procedure for people who are not happy with the shade of white shown in their teeth. Teeth whitening in Salinas can be carried out by a laser treatment; but, chemical bleaching with either hydrogen or carbamide peroxide is probably more common.
For example, Dental Concepts of Salinas, Ca provide Teeth Whitening In Salinas by placing a thin tray of cost effective chemical gel over the teeth for an hour each day. This is repeated over the following 10 days.
