Teeth whitening

About Teeth Whitening

While age & genetics do factor into dark or yellow teeth, our health choices make a significant impact. Generally speaking, your diet & oral hygiene are the most important determiners of your tooth color. Beverages like tea, coffee & red wine tend to stain teeth the most. In addition to all of the other health problems it causes, tobacco is one of the biggest reasons for stained & yellow, brown or even gray teeth.

If you want your teeth to be “pearly whites” again, your best bet is to talk to your dentist about teeth whitening. If you have tried over-the-counter whitening kits & been disappointed, you will have better results with either in-office or take-home teeth whitening.

In-Office Teeth Whitening

While whitening toothpastes & drugstore kits can help keep your teeth bright, teeth whitening from a dentist will make the fastest & most significant difference in your smile. Because we are authorized to use a more powerful form of peroxide, we can make your teeth several shades whiter in around an hour! If you have a formal occasion around the corner & don’t have time to wait for a shinier smile, our in-office whitening is a great option.

Procedure Overview

You may notice your teeth losing some of their whiteness a couple days after an in-office teeth whitening. This is a normal reaction. The color change happens as your teeth recover from dehydration during the whitening process.

• The first step of a professional teeth whitening appointment is recording your pretreatment teeth color. This will help you see just how effective your whitening is.
• Next, the dentist needs to protect your lips, tongue & gums from the whitening agent. The concentrated whitening chemicals available to dentists are more likely to irritate or damage these body parts if they come into direct contact with them. For their protection, your gums will be covered with a rubber dam or a liquid that hardens & can be removed later. The dentist will also insert a cheek retractor, which spreads your lips apart in order to expose your teeth & distance them from your lips & cheeks.
• Once the soft tissues of your mouth & face are protected, the peroxide whitening gel is applied to your teeth. We will do this in a few 15- to 30-minute cycles & check the progress between each application. The entire appointment lasts approximately an hour to an hour & a half.
• When the dentist is finished, they will note your post-treatment tooth color & determine how many shades it changed. If necessary, you will receive a set of take-home whitening trays to maintain the color of your new smile.

Take-Home Teeth Whitening

If you have tried over-the-counter whitening kits & been disappointed, you will have better results with one of our custom whitening trays. Our trays are made from impressions of your teeth, so they fit comfortably & securely. Since they are made to fit your mouth, they can also cover all the spots store-bought whitening kits tend to miss. Over-the-counter products also tend to leak whitening gel & rub against your gums, causing gum irritation or pain.