Various products can stain your teeth. Some of the worst offenders are products like tobacco, wine, and coffee. Still, even if you don't consume any of these products, plaque can stain teeth, leaving your smile looking dingy and worn. If your teeth are less than white, and you are looking to clean up your smile, then you should look into teeth whitening. However, before you run down to the local drugstore and buy a teeth whitening kit, there are a few things you must consider first. 

Dental Decay

If you have tooth damage, the chemicals used in teeth whitening can make the condition worse. Whitening your teeth once in while should not affect healthy enamel, but if you already have cavities forming or receding gums, trying to whiten your teeth can lead to inflammation, sensitivity, and pain. Thus, you should first have your teeth cleaned and have any cavities that are forming taken care of so that you don't have to worry about complications after receiving the whitening treatment.

Dental Fillings

Whitening compounds work on tooth enamel, but they don't work on the porcelain used in dental crowns or the compounds used in dental fillings. Because dentists will match the color of crowns and fillings to surrounding teeth, your crowns may not be a brilliant white. Thus, you should not try to whiten surrounding teeth past the color of crowns and fillings. If you do whiten your surrounding teeth, the crowns and fillings will hold their color, so in the case of fillings, you may have one tooth that is multiple colors, and in the case of a crown, you will have one tooth that is not the same color as surrounding teeth. To avoid uneven whitening, you should at least consider having a professional do the whitening so that you don't have as much risk of whitening your teeth too much.

Special Considerations

Thus, if you know that you have to have dental work done near the front of your mouth and you also need whitening, you might consider having your teeth whitened before receiving corrective treatment so that your dentist can match any crowns and fillings you need to your whitened teeth. 

When you whiten your teeth, the last thing you should have to worry about is inflaming a cavity or having off-color crowns sabotaging your efforts to improve the look of your smile. However, if you bear in mind the limitations of teeth whitening, you should still be able to get a healthy and white smile. Contact a dental office, like Pinon Hills Dental, for more help.