Whitening
Having a beautiful smile may be even easier than you think. Many people achieve the look they've been dreaming of with a procedure that is extremely conservative, relatively affordable, and can have dramatic results. We will be happy to share with you some pre and post-treatment photos of some of our completed cases.
What are the details?
Tooth whitening uses peroxide based gels in custom fabricated trays to whiten enamel. The anatomy of a tooth consists of tiny microtubules that run from the inside of the tooth to the outside. Stains form in these tubules over time. The peroxide-based gels work their way into these tubules from the outside and set up an oxidation reaction decreasing the discoloration in the tubules thereby lightening the tooth.
The starting point is to determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure by using a Whitening Shade Guide. We will take impressions of the arches and fabricate custom whitening trays. At a subsequent appointment, we provide you with the whitening gel and trays. We recommend that our patients wear their trays for at least 4 hours per day. We will re-evaluate the areas at subsequent appointments.
Does UV light or Laser help to whiten teeth?
Because they are so heavily marketed by dental manufacturers, we oftentimes have patients ask about whitening procedures using an ultraviolet light or Laser - while these methods may work for some offices, we have found that this significantly increases the costs for the patient. Studies have found that in-office whitening with most lights or lasers does not provide a better long-term result than using custom trays and that in-office whitening still requires custom trays to be worn after the office procedure. In fact, some studies have shown that the use of heat and light since they are left on the teeth for extended time can actually increase the temperature of the pulp within the tooth leading to increased tooth sensitivity in some patients. In the best interests of our patients, our practice does not find any added benefit to use a UV light or laser to whiten teeth. For additional information, please refer to the following independent referenced study: