Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening options have increased significantly in the past decade. Presently, there are 3 primary methods used to bleach teeth: dentist-supervised at-home night guard bleaching, in-office or power bleaching, and mass marketed over the counter products. With the development of numerous over the counter teeth bleaching options have come a great deal of national advertising to promote those products and these advertising claims are mostly not proven by research. These products are a “one-size-fits-all” teeth whitening solution that can work in certain instances, but to truly get your teeth their whitest a prescription strength whitening formulation coupled with a custom made delivery system for your mouth is unsurpassed. The most commonly used agents for teeth bleaching are hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide, both in a gel form.

• Dentist administered at-home whitening using a mouthguard-like appliance has been the most common method of bleaching teeth. This process consists of the fabrication of a custom made mold of the patient’s teeth and the use of a gel bleaching agent once a day for 2-3 weeks. Results depend on the compliance of the patient and the type of staining the teeth have. The bleaching material seems to work best on yellow and brown stains, but seem to work poorly on blue and gray stains. Patients usually have a highly satisfactory result.
• The OTC products come in various concentrations, delivery modalities, and application times. They can be applied using a strip, a paint-on method, or other modes and application times vary by product.
• The in-office or power bleaching procedure requires the use of a high concentration of bleaching gel for maximum results. Many systems also include the use of heat and/or high intensity light. The system of choice at Waterloo Heights Dental Center is BriteSmile teeth whitening system. Years of yellowing as well as staining from coffee, tea, red wine and cola are almost magically erased in the time it takes to get a haircut, a manicure or lunch. In fact, clinical studies prove that the BriteSmile whitening treatment results in an average improvement of 8-12 shades whiter. Call us to schedule your BriteSmile procedure or to learn more about how it can help you achieve a whiter smile.