What if you could look years younger in about an hour? Years of drinking dark beverages or smoking can leave their mark on your teeth and a lot of people want whiter teeth. And, with a brighter smile, you may find yourself more confident socially and more successful in business. People who smile with confidence are viewed as warm, inviting, and friendly. And a brighter smile is within reach for you. Now, with professional teeth whitening systems, Dr. Whitmore can help you achieve the same beautiful bright smile that movie stars have!
Foods that you eat every day have pigments that are absorbed by your teeth. Berries, coffee, chocolate, wine, and many other foods will gradually, over the years, cause your teeth to darken. Medications such as tetracycline, and some types of dental work may also darken your teeth. It can also be a matter of heredity. You could have been born with darker teeth. There are natural yellows, browns, and reds that are a part of everyone's adult teeth.
But you don't have to live with this darker color. There are many different ways you can have your teeth whitened.
All tooth whitening needs to start with a thorough exam. Not only do we want to discover which option works best for you, but there are problems that could be present in your teeth that may need to be dealt with before you undergo any tooth bleaching. Leaky fillings, open cavities, or sensitive roots, if they aren't addressed, could lead to tooth damage from bleaching procedures.
Zoom Whitening is the quickest way to whiten your teeth. First, your teeth are isolated with a protective coating over your gums. The Zoom Gel is so powerful, it will irritate your gums if it contacts them directly. Then the gel is painted over your teeth, and you sit under the Zoom light for about half an hour. At the end of the appointment, your teeth will be markedly lighter. You can additionally accelerate the process by taking some of the gel home and wearing a close-fitting plastic tray around your teeth to extend the exposure of your teeth to the bleaching gel.
If you would like doing the whitening yourself, we can create clear, customized bleaching trays for you to use at home. We use the Opalescence system for at-home bleaching. You wear the trays with the Opalescence gel for about an hour a day. After doing this for about two weeks, your teeth will be dramatically whiter. The nice thing about the at-home system is that you can continue on to make your teeth as white as you want them.
You can also purchase home use whiteners over the counter at most drugstores and discount stores. While these systems are appealing because they are relatively inexpensive, you need to be very careful. None of them will whiten your teeth nearly as much as what we can achieve in the office with either of the above systems. Some of them even have ingredients that will damage the surface of your teeth your teeth will be whiter initially, but with a roughened surface to your teeth, they will pick up even more stains later. So we don't recommend any of the over-the-counter products.
Almost every brand of toothpaste these days advertises itself as whitening toothpaste. You need to understand that, since toothpastes are on your teeth for only a short interval each day, there is no way for any bleaching agents to penetrate your teeth and lighten your teeth from the inside, the way professional bleaching does. All they do is remove surface stains. Some of them work very well at this, and as long as you're not expecting too much, you may be very satisfied with their performance.
People wonder if teeth whitening is permanent. The answer is that yes, it is. Now your teeth, after whitening, will continue to darken over time as all teeth do, but they will always be whiter than they otherwise would have been. Think of it as similar to bleaching a shirt. The old color is permanently bleached out. But the shirt may still get dirty and may even accumulate new stains that have to be bleached out again.
Whitening systems can also cause temporary sensitivity in your teeth. After you begin bleaching, if you experience any sensitivity, please let us know. We can switch techniques or try a different gel or use any of various desensitizers to lessen the irritation. Don't continue whitening if it causes pain.
If bleaching and teeth whitening cant get your teeth as white as youd like, you may want to consider porcelain veneers. Or, if there are other problems with your smile, such as mis-aligned teeth, chips, spaces, or poorly shaped teeth, porcelain veneers will correct all of that plus give you bright white teeth.
