Professional Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening treatment by the dentist is certainly the best way to achieve a Hollywood smile. Professional techniques whiten teeth in the shortest time and the effects last longer than home remedies. For those on a budget however, home DIY kits provide a viable short-term solution to whitening your teeth.

There are various professional whitening treatments like over the counter teeth whitening systems, dentist dispensed products to be used at home, laser teeth whitening, loaded tray methods and in-office whitening method. Dentists prefer to use peroxide-based chemicals as bleaching agent for treatments. Here’s a quick overview of these treatments.

Professional tooth-whitening methods are completely safe and produce no harmful side effects. Some patients may experience some tooth sensitivity for a while. However, the symptoms are temporary and usually disappear once the treatment is completed. Clinical studies have shown that about one out of twenty users experiences tooth and gum sensitivity, so it is best that patients make use of professional help in tooth whitening.

Dentist dispensed products for home use is called the Loaded Tray method. Dentists load carbamide peroxide, a strong bleaching agent, inside custom made trays and fit it with the gum. The bleaching agent reacts with the saliva to release hydrogen peroxide and whitens the teeth in two to three weeks.

The dentist will usually polish your teeth before beginning the professional teeth whitening procedure to ensure that all surface stains have gone. The dentist will then isolate the teeth that are going to be whitened with a thin sheet of latex or a special gel that provides a seal around the teeth. The tooth whitener/bleacher is then applied and left on for the period of time necessary to achieve the previously agreed results. Depending on which technique the dentist has chosen, a laser, heat or light source may be used to help activate the bleaching agent.