Enlighten

As time goes by your teeth have a tendency to develop stains or discolouration. Tooth whitening is an excellent development in dental technology which can help to lighten the natural colour of your teeth without having to remove or replace any of them. In the past the only option available to patients was to have the whitening performed at a clinic, however there's now home kits available such as the Enlighten tooth whitening kit which provides convenient and effective treatment.

The structure of your teeth

Your teeth are made up of two main layers. The layer deep inside is made from a material called dentin. Dentin is a calcified body tissue which is made up of microscopic channels which range from the innermost part of the tooth all the way to the outer layer, the enamel. The enamel is the hard outer layer which shields your teeth. As you eat and drink another layer is gradually formed over the top of your enamel (which is called pellicle film) and certain foods and drinks such as red wine, tea and coffee have been shown to increase the rate at which stains and discolourations appear. It's possible for this layer to be cleaned by brushing your teeth, scraping or certain chemical procedures. Stains are usually broken into two categories, Extrinsic stains appear mostly on the surface of teeth and can usually be brushed away initially. Intrinsic stains are stains which form inside the tooth and gradually appear on the outside. However the main problem is that the materials in your food and drink which cause the staining can penetrate through the porous enamel to where they can't be scraped or scoured off meaning that tooth whitening is the only option to treat stains.

The treatment

The most commonly used form of tooth whitening is bleaching. This is where chemicals are applied which can penetrate into your enamel and create a chemical reaction which works to dissolve the materials which cause the discolouration. The most popular chemicals used in tooth whitening include hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide. The active ingredient in the Enlighten gel is hydrogen peroxide which has seen lots of use in dentistry over the years and has an excellent safety record. Enlighten home whitening involves applying these chemicals through a specially designed tray, optimised to give a complete seal. You'll need to wear the tray for a couple of hours each day or overnight for about two weeks. Enlighten gel is specifically designed so that it has a low sensitivity which lessens the risk of developing sensitive teeth during the whitening process. If you carefully follow the kit instructions then Enlighten has been shown to be highly effective with some users getting up to ten shades whiter teeth.