Yellow teeth are never a pretty sight. Discoloration of teeth can happen because of wine, soda, coffee or simply, age. Consuming tobacco, and smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes can also stain your teeth. Even prescribed drugs with a yellow base i.e. a chemical makeup known as tetracycline, can give you a yellow smile. So, what do you do if you want to whiten your teeth?

You can either get your teeth whitened or get porcelain veneers to dazzle up your smile. A dentist takes about one to two hours for a teeth-whitening procedure. If you’re not comfortable going to a dentist, you can use teeth whitening strips that have a hydrogen peroxide base and have to be applied daily. You have to wait for a week or two before you can see the effects of the teeth whitening solutions.

While whiter teeth give your face a friendlier and youthful look, teeth whitening solutions have their own disadvantages. Your teeth and gums may ache due to the bleaching or blue-white light system. If you’ve got heavily stained teeth, then you may want to consider porcelain veneers or crowns, though these are more expensive than teeth whitening procedures.

You also have to be careful while choosing the brightness of your teeth. You don’t want your million-dollar smile look like a flashlight – too bright a smile can look extremely artificial. It’s a good idea to consult your dentist about the shade of white that you should go for. Many dentists’ offices offer computer generated before and after pictures of what your smile could be before the teeth whitening procedure begins.