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Teeth Whitening Internal/External Bleaching

Endodontic Teeth Whitening Internal/External Bleaching

Endodontics is a branch of dentistry that is concerned with the health of your root canal system inside your teeth. When your endodontist performs a root canal treatment, they will not only remove the pulp tissue from the root canal, they will also whiten your teeth from the inside out. 

Sometimes, your endodontist may perform this whitening at the same time they do the root canal. That can help prevent you from having to come back to have it done.

Will Traditional Whitening Work?
You might wonder why you can’t simply do a traditional whitening procedure. That type of procedure uses hydrogen peroxide to bleach your teeth.This kind of procedure works well for many typical stains like coffee or tobacco stains, but it doesn’t work well for root canal discoloration.
man-getting-teeth-whitening-treatment

While traditional whitening techniques work well on extrinsic stains in the outer layers of your enamel, an endodontic whitening procedure uses products that actually penetrate the enamel and whiten the underlying layers. 

Traditional whitening is meant to treat extrinsic stains or stains that are on the outer layers of your enamel. An endodontic whitening procedure can treat intrinsic stains or stains that are present underneath the enamel.

What is an Endodontic Whitening Procedure Like?

Your endodontist will first use X-rays to ensure that the root canal is intact, and typically, once you’re fully healed, they will proceed with the whitening procedure. Sometimes they do it at the time of the root canal, but usually, they like to make sure you have healed first. 

Once they are certain they can do it successfully, they will make a small hole in the same area where they removed the pulp tissue. They will irrigate and clean the site. To protect your gums and other soft tissues from the irritating bleach, they will place cotton rolls and latex dams in your mouth. 

After that, they will disinfect the area and fill the root canal with the final filling material. After that, they will apply the whitening agent before closing up the access hole temporarily to prevent it from leaking. It might take several appointments to get the desired tooth color shade, but once that has happened, your endodontist will replace the temporary seal with a permanent one.

Reach Out Today
If you’re having a root canal done and are in need of a qualified endodontist to perform the procedure and whiten your teeth in the Aurora, Colorado area, reach out to Dr. Benjamin Ricketts’ office today. We are dedicated to quality endodontic work so that the results will last you a lifetime.