health}whitening
B r i g h t e n Yo u r M o n t a n a S m i l e by Dr. John F. Miller DDS
First off let me welcome the lovely women in the 406 to 2014. In my last article I encouraged you to include an improved oral healthcare routine amongst your goals for the New Year. Remember, your mouth is the window to your overall health so I encourage you to remain resolute. The year is fresh, your goals are fresh, let your mouth be fresh also. To be honest, I'm sitting on a plane to Salt Lake City right now and for someone like me, with mild to moderate undiagnosed attention deficit disorder (ADD), planes are torture. I feel like I've been placed in "timeout." However, my greatest moments of clarity always come within the confines of a fuselage and I'm ultimately grateful for the opportunity to step away from the distractions of Terra Firma and reflect. My poor wife Juli calls it my flight induced manic episode. Anyway, my present flight has my mind wrapped around my young career as a dentist and what I desire for the community that I serve. My enhanced clarity & focus strip away the fluff and I have it: SMILE! In other 56   
words, I want Montana to SMILE bigger, brighter, and often. So let's focus the remainder of this discussion on the quickest and easiest process in which to freshen and brighten your Montana smile. Whitening! Most of us are familiar with the current whitening campaign, which claims that "if you're not whitening your yellowing." I agree with this statement and I actually like it. The process of teeth whitening is considered a cosmetic dental procedure and it can be grouped with cosmetic procedures in general. And if we really consider the purpose of a cosmetic procedure, it is to look fresher, healthier, and I think the one word that embodies cosmetics is "Youth!" Our teeth naturally yellow as we age, whitening your teeth will automatically make you appear younger. In my kitchen I have a raw butcherblock island. As wood being porous, it absorbs stain (especially Huckleberries products). It needs regular maintenance to stay fresh (if you haven't figured it out yet, fresh is the word of the day). Â Teeth, while much more resistant, are also porous and will pick up
the stains of life: coffee, tea, dark berries, red wine, smoking = the usual suspects. Let's discuss the current available methods to combat these stains and maintain our bright smiles. Over the counter whitening options: 1. Whitening toothpaste and gums:
tive and readily accessible option for whitening your teeth. Easily found at nearly all supermarkets and drugstores, whitening strips utilize peroxide to break down the stains in your teeth. Consistent usage of whitening strips will deliver some result, but the general rule in teeth whitening is quick easy and cheap equates to a greater time commitment. 3. Whitening gels and whitening trays:
Toothpaste and gums that claim to whiten are blurring the lines between what is actually stain, and what is actually debris. Brushing teeth, obviously the most important thing you can do for your oral health, it is effective at removing physical debris, plaque, and minor surface stain from your teeth. In doing so your teeth are obviously going to look whiter because they are indeed cleaner. With that being said, toothpastes and gums that claim to whiten teeth have little if any effect on removing actual stains.
Whitening gels are clear, peroxidebased gel systems that can involve filling a generic mouthguard like tray with a peroxide-based gel or applying it with a small brush directly to the surface of your teeth. These modalities will get results but there will be a greater time commitment involved, with less predictability and consistency.
2. Whitening strips:
1. In-office whitening:
Whitening strips are very thin, virtually invisible strips that are coated with the peroxide-based whitening gel. They represent a quick, cost-effec-
In-office whitening, also known as bleaching, provides the quickest way to whiter teeth, and usually comes with the most expensive price tag. During
Dentist facilitated whitening options: