Teeth Whitening For Kids: Purpose And Procedure

Does your kid have yellow, stained, or discolored teeth to make you think you must get them whitened? You may think bright and white teeth boost your kids’ self-esteem to enhance their confidence positively.

Besides encouraging your child to maintain excellent dental hygiene by brushing and flossing their teeth, you may consider using whitening toothpaste used by adults to brighten your kid’s teeth. However, is it safe for children to whiten their teeth? If you have apprehensions about whitening children’s teeth, this article elaborates on this subject. Kindly understand the facts before you allow your child to use whitening products on their teeth by reading this article.

Can Your Kid Use Whitening Toothpaste?

Whitening toothpaste helps remove surface stains on the teeth. Most brands contain abrasive agents to polish teeth, and some also have chemicals to dissolve tooth stains by breaking them down. Unfortunately, whitening toothpaste doesn’t change the natural color of teeth.

Whitening toothpaste best removes minor stains from your child’s teeth without altering their color or making them appear dramatically whiter. In addition, toothpaste can also cause your child’s teeth to become sensitive to temperatures because of the microscopic tubules in the tooth enamel. Before allowing your child to use whitening toothpaste, consider a discussion with the pediatric dentist in Houston for advice. The professional will likely advise you to wait until your child can brush appropriately without help.

Can You Get Your Child’s Teeth Whitening from a Dentist?

Yes, professional teeth whitening near you is an excellent remedy to whiten teeth for adults and children. Teeth bleaching is an aesthetic dentistry process to whiten teeth when dentists use controlled applications of hydrogen or carbamide peroxide to eliminate tooth stains.

As you can purchase tooth whitening products from drugstores or supermarkets, it is advisable to consult your child’s pediatric dentist before bleaching their teeth, recommends the American Academy of pediatric dentistry.

Instead of using over-the-counter bleaching products to whiten children’s teeth, a beneficial option is to consider asking the pediatric dentist to provide teeth whitening for kids in Houston. Pediatric dentists offer a safer option for teeth whitening because they control the whitening application by creating custom-fitting trays for your child’s teeth when providing therapy. As a result, treatments provided by dentists deliver whiter and longer-lasting results than over-the-counter products. In addition, kid’s teeth whitening from dentists helps remove surface and stubborn stains. Best of all, it significantly minimizes the risks of tooth sensitivity and gum irritation.

What Age Is Best for Children’s Teeth Whitening?

When considering teeth whitening for kids, it is best if your child waits until the enamel of their permanent teeth calcifies before considering any whitening remedies. It indicates your child must wait for at least two years after their final permanent teeth emerge.

Children using whitening treatments before all their permanent teeth have emerged risk breaking down tooth enamel and harming gum tissue. Therefore before starting any home whitening treatment, it is best to discuss your child’s tooth discoloration with the pediatric dentist, who can provide optimal advice.

Children must wait until they are 18 before trying teeth whitening products purchased over the counter from drugstores or supermarkets. Many products available for home use also contain hydrogen peroxide to bleach teeth. Children can enthusiastically overuse the product, trying to get a brilliant smile as soon as possible, without realizing the hydrogen peroxide might damage their teeth or gums to cause sensitivity and pain.

If your child has discolored teeth, the optimal technique to brighten their smile is to schedule an appointment with the pediatric dentist nearby for exams and cleanings. The dentist, after removing calcified plaque and tartar deposits from their teeth, will also polish them to make them appear brighter than they were before the cleaning.

Besides the above, dentists suggest you refrain your child from drinking carbonated beverages that can also stain teeth. They recommend avoiding sports drinks, sodas, dyed candy, dark fruits and vegetables, cherry and berry juices, and citrus fruits.

Preventing stains on children’s teeth might seem challenging because children are sneaky and try to achieve their goals using any means possible. However, prevention is better than any treatment, especially of the aesthetic variety when children are young and their tooth enamel hasn’t calcified to sustain the use of professional whitening treatments using chemicals to remove surface and deep stains.

If you think your child’s teeth are discolored and need whitening, consider scheduling an appointment with your child with Urbach Pediatric Dentistry. During your consultation, the dentist will clarify which whitening treatment is optimal for your child to have a brighter-looking smile.