When most people think of gum bleaching, they think of the salon-style experience that’s popular among celebrities and Instagram influencers. A dental assistant applies some chemical solution to your teeth and brushes it away with a special light, giving you the gleaming smile you’ve always wanted! But does this method actually work? The short answer is no — the long answer follows in this article about the painful reality of gum bleaching for ethnic patients.
The History:
Gum bleaching is not a new concept. The keyword is try. Using lasers to reduce the melanocytes, dentists would attempt to burn an entire layer of the gum tissue away in hopes that it would diminish the coloring. In reality, this made things worse, often burning or removing too much tissue causing pain and making it more difficult for patients to chew or talk with ease. But due to pressure from clients and misconceptions about ethnic pigmentation, dentists found themselves in a situation where they were forced to keep trying methods with minimal success until LumaRx came along…
Old vs New (How Do Dentists Eliminate Melanin Today?)
A lot has changed since bleaching first became popular. For example, lasers. Dentists would use painful lasers to literally burn away the melanocyte (skin pigment) cells in hopes that it would stop the unwanted pigment from reaching the gum tissues. It sounds so horrifying, but there was nothing else they could do at the time. Nowadays dentists have other ways to get rid of these pigmentation cells and make your gums appear whiter; all without any pain or damage to the surrounding skin! An option is laser therapy where a dentist will cover a thin tissue containing melanocytes with a special gel and then proceed to use small bursts of energy on the tissue until they’ve zapped all of them.
How A Dentist Can Help You Achieve Whiter Teeth?
Dentists usually try to recommend chemical whitening and bleaching as a way to remove gum pigmentation, but what if you are an ethnic patient? Ethnic pigmentation is often caused by various ethnic factors like aging, overexposure to the sun, and trauma. These have been the past treatments for gum bleaching and there is no immediate solution. That’s why we need dentists! – They are able to treat different ethnicities in ways that work well with their skin type. For example, patients from India might do better with lasers than with deep chemical peels because they have fairer skin. Similarly, many Vietnamese patients have had luck using lasers paired with whitening toothpaste to achieve whiter teeth without having a painful procedure done by surgery.
What Are Your Alternatives?
Unfortunately, with the prevalence of ethnic pigmentation comes a painful reality: our teeth are darker. Here’s how you can better care for your teeth if they’re darker and create a whiter smile without resorting to laser treatment.
1 – Start using whitening toothpaste #2 – Take a stronger sensitivity toothpaste such as Sensodyne, which contains potassium nitrate #3 – Floss with fresh mint mouthwash or dental floss to reduce bacterial content on your gums #4 – Visit the dentist at least twice yearly, who may be able to offer solutions that don’t include gum bleaching treatments (although most treatments require an examination in person) #5 – Eat strawberries.
Before & After Pictures:
Check out the top photo where it’s just the regular gums, but in the bottom pic you can see a lot more tissue removed – which is what gum bleaching looks like on the inside.
Have A Question? Let Me Know!
Gum bleaching has been around since the late 80s but its seen a resurgence in recent years because people are increasingly conscious about their teeth. One such person looking to combat staining is Alex, who asks:
How Does This Process Work?
Luckily, Dr. David Cohen says that there are safer options available now than what was used in the past.
Patients may want to discuss with their dentist the pros and cons of one type of whitening option versus another before they make a decision, he said.