SNOW WHITE

Teeth come in all shapes, sizes AND most definitely colors. In the present day, most people want to have their teeth as white as possible. This is where tooth whitening, also known as bleaching, comes into play. In a relatively short time, without much effort or discomfort, and for a relatively modest price, most people can achieve lighter-colored teeth. Yes, we said “lighter-colored” because not everyone can achieve snow white teeth. Age, prior medications, and sometimes just enamel deficiencies can prevent the teeth from bleaching as well as most. Tooth sensitivity can also play a factor. However, it is always our recommendation to attempt to whiten the teeth first, because many times the results are surprising.

The process starts with a thorough dental examination and full-mouth, digital x-rays to make sure that the teeth are healthy and don’t require dental treatment such as periodontal (gum) therapy, fillings, crowns, etc before proceeding.  If all is healthy, then we perform an intra-oral, digital scan of all of the teeth so that we can have a 3D image of the teeth in the computer.  These digital dental images are then sent to the dental laboratory where they will fabricate the custom-fitted whitening trays from those digital scans.  At that point you will either start using the whitening trays with an at-home bleaching gel, or you will have a powerful whitening treatment performed in our office followed by the at-home treatments.  Typically we have our patients use the at-home treatment each and every night for at least two weeks.  If necessary, we may have you perform more at-home treatments or we may combine that with additional in the office power bleaches to get your teeth as white as possible.  Some people are limited as to how often and for how long that they can whiten their teeth because they may have sensitive teeth.  For this reason, we often recommend using a desensitizing toothpaste (such as Sensodyne) for two weeks or more prior to whitening their teeth and also continuing the use during the bleaching process.  Typically most sensitivities are mild and dissipate several days after discontinuing the tooth whitening treatment.

We currently use two of the top of the line tooth whitening treatments in our office that we have seen provide the best results.  One is the KOR tooth whitening system by Evolve Dental.  The other is Opalescence by Ultradent Dental.  Both of these companies were founded by dentists and have excellent reputations in the dental world for safety and efficacy.

(for big and little people)