Cosmetic Dental Services

Teeth Whitening

Tooth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry services. Everyone wants a bright, white smile. It increases your confidence, and enhances your appearance. Whitening may not be the best choice for all tooth discoloration. If your teeth are yellowish, you’ll get an excellent result. Brownish discoloration will get good results, but may not get completely white without follow-up and at-home treatments. Gray, blue or black discoloration that can result from antibiotic use when the teeth were formed in childhood, dental injury or previous root canal treatment is embedded in the inner tooth layer and may not be completely eliminated even with an in-office whitening treatment. In these cases Lumineers or traditional porcelain veneers may be a better option. If you’ve had bonding or tooth-colored fillings in your front teeth, whitening treatments will not change the color of these materials and they may stand out and become noticeable as the surrounding natural tooth enamel whitens, again making Lumineers or traditional veneers a better choice from a cosmetic standpoint. There are many over the counter products available to whiten teeth. You may have tried some these with varied results. There are whitening toothpaste, mouth trays with whitening gel and whitening strips. Use caution with whitening toothpastes as some are highly abrasive and can cause harm to tooth enamel. Peroxide based gels and strips are generally safe if used as directed. However they can cause tooth sensitivity which will generally reverse once the product is discontinued. The difference between at home treatments and in office treatment is we can provide a great result in one visit which may take you several weeks to achieve with the at home treatments. Tooth sensitivity can occur even with in-office treatments but is generally reversible. All whitening treatments will relapse with time. How long the whitening last without re-treatment depends on life style. Red wine, coffee, tea and tobacco are products that stain the teeth most. However everything you consume will over time stain teeth including tap water which often contains dissolved minerals. You may therefore wish to do some maintenance on your own after an in-office treatment via white strips or trays with gel. You may repeat the in-office treatment as the need arises.