If stained and discolored teeth are preventing you from having the brilliant white smile that you desire, teeth whitening treatments can help. Having bright white teeth can help to improve your self-confidence and might even help you to maintain better oral hygiene practices. When your teeth are brilliantly white, you will be more inclined to smile openly and brightly, showing off your happy, outgoing personality. This can have a significant effect on your mood, relationships, and even professional life. If you'd like to achieve a whiter, brighter smile, our professional staff can help.
What Types of Stains Can Teeth Whitening Fix?
Teeth can become stained and discolored from a number of things, including age. Over time, your tooth enamel can be worn away, exposing the yellow dentin beneath. This can give your teeth a yellowed or greyish appearance. Some of the most common causes of tooth discoloration include beverages such as wine, fruit juices, soda, coffee, and dark tea. Smoking and tobacco use can also cause your teeth to become dull, yellowed, or discolored. Professional teeth whitening treatments can remove any of these stains, even if they're older or set in. Unlike over the counter treatments, professional treatments can penetrate deep into the pores of your tooth enamel, removing deeply set in stains.
Who is a Good Candidate for Teeth Whitening?
Almost anyone is a good candidate for teeth whitening if they are looking for a whiter, brighter smile. Even if your teeth and gums are sensitive, you can receive a professional whitening treatment that will be virtually painless, due to the number of methods that are available to your dentist.
There are a few cases, however where a simple whitening treatment may not be recommended. If your teeth are discolored due to oral trauma, or if you suffer from enamel issues or thinning teeth a whitening treatment may not be the correct option for you. Your dentist will be able to provide you with alternative options that can help restore your smile as well.
What Types of Teeth Whitening Treatments are Available?
Cosmetic dentistry has advanced a great deal in the last few years, resulting in a large variety of teeth whitening methods for your dentist to choose from. In office procedures can generally be administered in around five minutes but can leave your teeth feeling sensitive and sore. Our office offers you a custom take home teeth whitening kit.
At-Home Whitening Treatments
If you have tried over-the-counter whitening treatments, you've most likely been disappointed with the results. While one of these treatments may whiten your teeth by a shade or two, a professional whitening kit that you can take home may whiten your smile by at least four shades or more. Furthermore, professional whitening treatments won't damage your teeth and enamel the way that over-the-counter treatments can. Professional teeth whitening kits provide you with all of the benefits of in-office treatments while offering you the convenience and affordability of a take-home kit.
Is At-Home Whitening the Right Choice for You?
If your teeth and gums tend to be more sensitive, or if you have stains that are deeply set in, your dentist will likely recommend that you use an at home teeth whitening kit. Your dentist can adjust the concentration levels of the whitening solution to ensure that you are able to whiten your teeth while remaining comfortable and pain free. This option is also an excellent choice for patients who are pressed for time and require the convenience of using the whitening solution at home.
What is the Procedure for At-Home Whitening?
Before your dentist can give you an at home whitening kit, they will need to take an impression of your upper and lower teeth. These impressions will be used to create custom whitening trays (this takes about a week). Once your trays are complete, your dentist will schedule an appointment to show you how to properly use the whitening trays and solution. Generally, you will need to wear the whitening trays for about an hour, twice a day over a period of approximately two-three weeks.
How Soon can you expect results from professional at home whitening treatments?
In general, you should expect to begin seeing noticeable results from your professional home whitening kit in as little as one week. In the case of more set in or extensive stains, however, it may take the full two weeks before you see results. During the two week period that you are using the at home treatments, it is best that you avoid food and drink that can cause staining, such as coffee, tea, soda, wine, and fruit juice. Certain fruits and even darker colored vegetables can also cause sodas. Once your initial whitening applications are complete, you can continue to use the kits for touch up purposes.
Professional teeth whitening treatments can provide you with excellent results for far less money than repeated use of the over-the-counter treatments, and are a cost effective alternative to more extensive cosmetic treatments such as porcelain veneers. For more information on the types of whitening treatments we have available and a recommendation for which treatment is right for you, call our office today at 310-378-9241.
Our professional staff has extensive experience helping patients achieve their best and brightest smile, and we can help you do the same.