Decatur, AL Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening (bleaching) is a great way to improve the look of your smile and can be done with minimal effort and from the comfort of your own home.
Who Is a Candidate for Teeth Whitening?
The answer is almost everyone. If you want a brighter smile, we can usually do that for you.
There are some factors, however, that need to be taken into consideration. If you have crowns on your front teeth or fillings on your front teeth that show, those will not bleach. Most tooth stain will respond well to whitening, but there are some, such as tetracycline stains, that are very stubborn. We will account for these when discussing options for you.
We have two bleaching systems that we use in our office.
Sheer White Teeth Whitening
Sheer White whitening strips by Henry Schein, are whitening strips containing 20% carbamide peroxide. This is a professional strength, stronger than what you can buy over the counter, and should be used only under a dentist’s supervision. We have found them to be very effective.
Sheer White strips adhere snugly to your teeth which prevents them from sliding around. This also makes them extremely comfortable to wear. Many patients find that there is less irritation to gums and less tooth sensitivity with Sheer White strips than with other at-home strips that contain hydrogen peroxide.
Opalescence Teeth Whitening
Opalescence is a patient-administered, at-home teeth bleaching system. Stronger than the Sheer White strips, it will whiten faster and more profoundly.
If this is the option you select, we will begin by taking impressions of your teeth, from which we will make plaster models. From those we will create clear plastic trays for you to wear at home, and we will give you the Opalescence whitening gel for you to put into the trays. Opalescence contains both potassium nitrate (to minimize tooth sensitivity) and fluoride. Wear the trays as we direct until your teeth are at the level of whiteness you want.
Is Teeth Whitening Permanent?
The Opalescence whitening gel is very effective at bleaching out any accumulated stains in your teeth and will even whiten the natural pigmentation of your teeth to make them potentially whiter than they ever were before. This effect is permanent. However, no whitening treatment can protect your teeth against later staining by coffee, highly pigmented foods, or other stains that your teeth may encounter. For this reason, we recommend that after completing your bleaching treatments, you save your trays for occasional touch-ups, maybe once every year or two.
If you would like to whiten your teeth, please call our office to schedule an appointment. Or, if you prefer, you may go to our request an appointment page and we will call you.