There is no question about it, having lovely teeth encourages us to smile more and boosts self-confidence. Teeth lose their natural bright white colour for many reasons, but the main ones are smoking, drinking coffee, tea and red wine, aging and some foods, such as beetle nuts. If you have let your teeth go, there is no reason to worry, dentists can virtually perform miracles these days. The first step would be to have your teeth fixed and then to have them descaled, polished and whitened.

In this article, we will be looking at teeth whitening and the real cost of teeth whitening. Teeth whitening comes under the heading of cosmetic dentistry. It is not a difficult procedure to carry out and does not take long to do. Most people only need one session and most sessions last only an hour, but it really depends on the extent of the discolouration.

However, in general, stains due to intake will lighten by four or five shades, while stains due to medication or hereditary factors will lighten about three shades. There are two basic forms of teeth whitening systems: professional and home whitening. There are also joint, hybrid methods.

Professional Teeth Whitening: this is performed by a trained, professional dentist or dental technician either in the dental surgery or at your home

Home Teeth Whitening: this includes using traditional, home remedies or shop-bought, gels, liquids, pastes, trays, strips and pens. With one hybrid system, the dentist makes trays for you to use at home on your own.

All of these teeth whitening systems will have a noticeable effect on the colour of your teeth, but the dentist is the only one who will ensure that everything goes as it ought.

Time and convenience are part of the consideration for many people in spite of of the real cost. Being able to carry out teeth whitening while you are home relaxing after work is a big attraction. The cost of teeth whitening varies a great deal, depending largely on whether a dentist is involved or not, as their time is extremely expensive. The treatments vary in price, but so much.

In America, the cost of professional teeth whitening is usually between $500 and $2,000. However, the major part of this cost is the dentist, so you could go abroad to have the therapy. For example, professional teeth whitening in Thailand costs $250. Over-the-counter teeth whitening products in the USA cost between $30 and $50.

Besides the convenience of being able to do your own teeth whitening at home, it is true that this method takes longer. You might need to work at it for a few weeks, whereas a professional remedy is instant, within 90 minutes.

The real cost of teeth whitening though is sensitive teeth. Sometimes this sensitivity is short-lived, but it can last a long time. Both hot and cold drinks can cause you pain and some of the more dubious teeth whitening kits can cause thinning of the enamel, so that the dentin may become uncovered and that is not a pretty colour.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several subjects, but is currently concerned with researching teeth whitening dentists. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Opalescence Tooth Whitening Systems