Teeth whitening is something many people want to go through to get a better looking smile. There are different ways to get your teeth whitened; you can do it at the dentist's office or with do it yourself solutions in your own home. However, whether or not you choose to do it at the dentist or at home, there are a few things you should take extra care with in the case that you have dental fillings somewhere in your mouth.

Breaking fillings

Dental fillings are a certain type of dental work that is in the danger zone of working badly with teeth whitening. This is especially true when working with teeth whitening that contains peroxide. This substance can damage the fillings by disintegrating the material and make it more porous, as well as creating small cracks and holes in the fillings. Even though this might not cause you to have to change the fillings entirely, it does give opportunity for bacteria to enter the fillings and cause your overall oral hygiene to worsen.

To avoid any issues, you should protect the fillings when you are performing the whitening. You could cover them with a plastic film or cap before applying the whitener.

Miscolouring

Another problem with whitening your teeth while having dental fillings is that they might get miscoloured, or not match the colour of your teeth after you have gotten them whitened. Even if the whitener isn't affecting the fillings, leaving them the same colour they were before the whitening, they are not going to match the new colour of your teeth. This is best avoided by changing the fillings after the whitening process has been done. If you need to get fillings, you might be able to whiten your teeth first so that you can match your fillings with the new colour.

Loose bonds

Another problem with dental fillings and teeth whitening is that bonds in the fillings might be affected by whitening your teeth. This is especially an issue with peroxide whiteners. This issue can cause your filling to come loose and create a lot of problems that require emergency dental care. This issue is mainly a problem when fillings are placed directly after the teeth have been whitened.

To sort this issue, you could wait until you are certain that there is no residue left of the whitener before getting your fillings in place. In case you know you are getting fillings in your teeth, you might want to also get the whitening done at the dentist as well, as they will be able to tell you exactly how long you need to wait as they are familiar with what substances they use and how they work.