Darkening of the teeth may be caused by medications that you have been prescribed, stains (tobacco, caffeine, some juices, etc), or aging. As we age, the enamel of our teeth wears away, revealing the darker, inner portion of the tooth. Those who are affected by darkened teeth may want to speak to their dentist about possible treatments. These treatments include: bleaching, bonding, and whitening treatments.

Many over-the-counter products are available for tooth whitening, but it is suggested that you proceed with caution if you choose to use these. When your dentist does teeth bleaching in his office, he protects your gums with a custom application of a silicone gel. Because it is a gel or foam type compound, the dentist is able to put it exactly where he wants it to protect your gums.

Over-the-counter products come in a variety of forms, but do not offer you a way to protect your gums before applying the bleaching agent. It also takes much longer to get the same results from an over-the-counter treatment as it does with one dental whitening or bleaching treatment.

Many of the over-the-counter treatments that you buy have a piece that you fill with the bleaching agent and fit it over your teeth. This works well to keep the whitening agent on you teeth, but at the same time, it is keeping the whitening agent on your gums. By subjecting your gums to these agents, you are doing damage - sometimes permanently.

Darkened teeth cannot always be corrected by whitening treatments. If your teeth are yellow or brown, you will probably achieve some results through whitening treatments (brown has less chance of becoming white), but if you have grey teeth, chances are that whitening treatments will not work for you. The best thing you can do is talk to your dentist. If you are a good candidate for tooth whitening treatments, he will be able to tell you.

If he agrees that your teeth will be helped by whitening treatments, you will probably have a series of appointments, depending on the color of your teeth. You can expect about 45 minutes per appointment. Sometimes, UV light is used in these treatments, but it is a filtered spectrum so you should not need to worry about exposure issues. However, you will be asked to wear special eye protection during the process.

Teeth that have been bonded or filled with white fillings are also not good candidates for whitening treatments because whiteners will not lighten the artificial portions of the tooth - meaning that part of the tooth may be brilliant white while the artificial portions will be the old color. Dental bonding and porcelain veneers usually work for these situations but they also cost more than the standard professional whitening treatments.

If you choose to try over-the-counter whiteners, you have two choices of product. One is a bleaching agent that is applied directly to the teeth (whether by brush or by a tray that fits to your teeth) and the other is toothpaste.

If you choose the over-the-counter bleaching treatment, you can expect to have to apply the treatment 2 times a day for about 2 weeks to achieve the results. You can also purchase a system from your dentist which you can use at home. For this, your dentist will custom fit a tray to your teeth, which is safer for your gums. Sensitive teeth are often reported during this treatment but usually go away when the treatment is discontinued.

If you choose to use toothpaste, you may not get the results that you would get with bleaching treatments. These use abrasives to remove surface stains, over use can cause damage to your tooth enamel, much like the wearing away of enamel through aging. If your enamel gets worn down, you can end up with grey teeth that will require dental bonding or veneers to correct.