Fancy a little experiment? Walk the streets and smile at complete strangers. A few might look back in irritation, but far more often someone will laugh back happily. Because smiling is contagious and opens everyone’s heart, including your own. If you show your teeth in a friendly way, it will send a good mood message to your brain. What a pity if you deny yourself this and only pull up the corners of your mouth slightly pinched because you don’t think your teeth are presentable. But how do we get healthy teeth that are as white and straight as possible so that we can shine in a relaxed manner? We got that from the Bonn dentist Dr. Let Björn Eggert explain.
Table of Contents
Proper dental care – brushing
The right cleaning time
In addition to the how, the when also counts. Reaching for a toothbrush immediately after eating can sometimes even be harmful, because acids in food weaken tooth enamel. The tip from Dr. Eggert: “If you’ve drunk orange juice or eaten fruit, it ‘s better to wait 20 minutes before cleaning .”
Professional tooth cleaning
As a useful addition, professional teeth cleaning at the dentist helps to keep teeth and gums healthy . Another advantage: You can get tips on home dental care there. And treat yourself to a new brush or a new brush head at regular intervals. “After three to four months, the cleaning effect wears off and the bacterial load increases. Then at the latest you should switch,” advises Dr. Eggert.
Beautiful and healthy teeth with whitening
Stubborn discolouration and deposits, e.g. B. caused by black tea, carbonated drinks, red wine or nicotine, often disappear without bleaching through professional tooth cleaning . But the yellowing of the teeth, which is becoming darker, comes from within: the tooth bone (dentin) shines through more and more with age. If you don’t want to accept that, you can have your teeth whitened by up to eight color levels with professional bleaching (200 to 800 euros), the effect lasts about two to three years. Products for domestic use cannot do this . However, the procedure is not suitable for everyone. “Anyone who has decayed or extremely sensitive teeth should keep their hands off it,” warns the dentist.
Alternatives to bleaching
Zoom brightening system
The “Zoom! Whitening System” (costs: approx. 400 euros) offers radiantly white teeth in just one hour. The dentist applies a whitening gel that contains hydrogen peroxide. The “Zoom!” lamp activates the active ingredient. This causes discolouration in the tooth enamel to fade . After that, you should not consume any tooth-staining stimulants such as tea or coffee for 24 hours.
Ceramic tooth trays
Wafer-thin ceramic shells correct minor imperfections on the teeth, such as uneven rows of teeth or discolouration, quickly and painlessly. The adhesive shells are permanently bonded to the teeth. They last up to 20 years and look completely natural.
Have the alignment of the teeth corrected
- Multiband appliances (the classic “fixed brackets”)
Brackets connected by a wire are glued to the teeth. “ Six Month Smiles ” creates minor corrections with less conspicuous material after only six months on average. The price for this is 2300 to 2800 euros per jaw or around 3500 euros for both. - Aligner systems (pronounced Äleiner) with transparent splints
“Invisalign” is suitable e.g. B. also for complex corrections, in periodontosis or for dentures with bridges. The treatment costs are between 3500 and 6500 euros – comparable to those of a classic multi-band apparatus. Several splints are made from a 3D impression. Every two weeks you switch to the next form so that the teeth gradually come closer to the ideal image. You wear the aligners around 18 hours a day, but you can take them out to eat and clean. “Of course, that simplifies dental hygiene,” says the dentist. And that is and remains the main thing for beautiful teeth and a contagious, radiant smile.