Tooth whitening , is either the restoration of a natural tooth shade or whitening beyond the natural shade.

Restoration of the underlying, natural tooth shade is possible by simply removing surface stains caused by extrinsic factors such as tea, coffee, red wine and tobacco. The build up of calculus and tartar can also influence the staining of teeth. . Calculus and Tartar are difficult to remove without a professional clean.

Teeth whitening Methods
Brushing and flossing are everyday ways to keep your teeth bright, white and healthy. Teeth Whitening Kenya

Why Teeth Changes Color?

Over time, your teeth can go from white to not-so-bright for a number of reasons:

• Food and Drink

Coffee, tea and red wine are some major staining culprits. What do they have in common? Intense color pigments called chromogens that attach to the white, outer part of your tooth (enamel).

• Tobacco Use

Two chemicals found in tobacco create stubborn stains: Tar and nicotine. Tar is naturally dark. Nicotine is colorless until it’s mixed with oxygen. Then, it turns into a yellowish, surface-staining substance.

• Age

Below the hard, white outer shell of your teeth (enamel) is a softer area called dentin. Over time, the outer enamel layer gets thinner with brushing and more of the yellowish dentin shows through.

• Trauma

If you’ve been hit in the mouth, your tooth may change color because it reacts to an injury by laying down more dentin, which is a darker layer under the enamel.

• Medications

Tooth darkening can be a side effect of certain antihistamines, antipsychotics and high blood pressure medications. Young children who are exposed to antibiotics like tetracycline and doxycycline when their teeth are forming (either in the womb or as a baby) may have discoloration of their adult teeth later in life. Chemotherapy and head and neck radiation can also darken teeth.

• Other Factors such as:

You had too much exposure to fluoride during early childhood.
Your mother used tetracycline antibiotics during the second half of pregnancy.
You used tetracycline antibiotics when you were 8 years old or younger.
You had trauma that affected a tooth when you were a young child. A fall, for example, may damage the developing permanent tooth.
You had trauma in a permanent tooth, and internal bleeding discolored the tooth.
You were born with a rare condition called dentinogenesis imperfecta. This causes gray, amber or purple discolorations.

Teeth Whitening Kenya are of two type : in office teeth whitening and at home teeth whitening

In office Teeth Whitening Kenya

• Light-accelerated bleaching

Power or light-accelerated bleaching uses light energy which is intended to accelerate the process of bleaching in a dental office. Different types of energy can be used in this procedure, with the most common being halogen, LED, or plasma arc. Use of light during bleaching increases the risk of tooth sensitivity and may not be any more effective than bleaching without light when high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are used.
Your mouth is clamped open. The hydrogen peroxide gel is spread on your teeth. Another gel is placed onto the gums to protect them. The bleach is left to work for about 20 minutes. Then the dentist/practitioner will use the light gun on the teeth. Laser is a misnomer

• Nanoparticle Catalysts for Reduced Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration

A recent addition to the field is new light-accelerated bleaching agents containing lower concentrations of hydrogen peroxide with a titanium oxide nanoparticle based catalyst. Reduced concentrations of hydrogen peroxide cause lower incidences of tooth hypersensitivity.The nanoparticles act as photo-catalysts, and their size prevents them from diffusing deeply into the tooth. When exposed to light, the catalysts produce a rapid, localized breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into highly reactive radicals. Due to the extremely short lifetimes of the free radicals, they are able to produce bleaching effects similar to much higher concentration bleaching agents within the outer layers of the teeth where the nano particle catalysts are located. This provides effective tooth whitening while reducing the required concentration of hydrogen peroxide and other reactive byproducts at the tooth pulp.

• Internal bleaching on non-vital teeth.

Internal staining of dentine can discolor the teeth from inside out. Internal bleaching can remedy this on root canal treated teeth. Internal bleaching procedures are performed on devitalized teeth that have undergone endodontic treatment (root canal treatment) but are discolored due to internal staining of the tooth structure by blood and other fluids that leaked in. Unlike external bleaching, which brightens teeth from the outside in, internal bleaching brightens teeth from the inside out. Bleaching the tooth internally involves drilling a hole to the pulp chamber no more than 2mm below the gingival margin, cleaning any infected or discoloured dentine, sealing, and filling the root canal with gutta-percha points, cleaning the inside of the canal using etchant and placing a peroxide gel or sodium perborate tetrahydrate into the pulp chamber so they can work directly inside the tooth on the dentine layer

At Home You can Use :
Your dentist may also give you a kit with a mouthpiece and gel containing the bleach. Your dentist may make a custom mouthpiece to fit your teeth. These kits usually use a lower concentration of bleach than an in-office process. Your dentist will tell you how often to wear the mouthpiece and for how long.

An over-the-counter kit is similar to what your dentist gives you. The bleach concentration, how you use it, and how long you use it varies between products. For example, some products use a mouthpiece and others use strips you lay across your teeth.

All of these methods have different costs, and your insurance will usually not pay for them. You choose the method that works best for you and that you can afford.

Teeth whitening Clinics in Nairobi
If you looking for teeth whitening Clinics in Kenya /Nairobi,these dental clinics may help you

Teeth Whitening Prices in Kenya

Teeth whitening prices in kenya depends on Clinic,dentist etc.
These prices range between Ksh:8000 to Ksh:15000

Teeth Whitening Kenya