One of the most common elective dental procedures these days is teeth whitening. Everyone loves to smile, and if your teeth aren’t as pearly white as you’d like, it can leave you feeling very self-conscious of your smile. Fortunately, there are many options available to keep your teeth looking and feeling clean and bright.
Whitening toothpaste
One of the options that has been on the market for a while is whitening toothpaste. Several major dental hygiene product manufacturers offer whitening toothpastes, which can employ either polishing agents or chemicals that help lift surface stains from teeth. These pastes don’t involve any bleaching, and typically work by improving or maintaining the bright luster of your teeth with daily brushing and cleaning. Plus, several whitening toothpastes have received the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance.
Over-the-counter whitening kits
Another popular product with many people in recent years is the over-the-counter whitening kit. These kits typically use a bleaching agent, like a peroxide solution, that works to deeply penetrate and change the tooth color. While not as involved as professional whitening, these kits can often help improve those with minor staining problems to improve the white of their smile. There are a wide variety of applications styles, including strips, trays and paint-on kits, as well as different concentrations of the active bleaching ingredients, leaving a large variability to the effectiveness of these kits. However, several of the kits are participants in the ADA Seal of Acceptance program, though the only those kits that are ADA-rated presently use a 10 percent carbamide peroxide solution.
Professional bleaching
Of course, dental offices offer some of the most effective whitening options for severe staining issues. Dentist-provided whitening includes a generally stronger bleaching agent than OTC solutions – with bleaches that are often two to four times as concentrated – and offer a greater degree of whitening. At Genesee Dental PC, our whitening process is done in two visits. During the first, a mold is made of your teeth so that we can manufacture plastic trays that are custom fitted to your teeth and mouth. At the second, we ensure the fit and apply the first whitening solution, as well as instructions and additional solution to meet the needs of your particular staining or whitening requirements.
We also now offer a “Free Whitening for Life” program. In this program, all patients who participate in their regular re-care appointments will receive a free tube of whitening gel at the end of their session. Any patient – new or existing – can participate in the program, and it’s a great way to keep your smile as bright as the summer sun.
No matter what route you take, there are plenty of ways to rejuvenate your smile. Before starting on any whitening regiment, you should consult with your dentist to make sure that there are no risks of damage to any existing dental work or potential conflicts with any medicines or health conditions. Contact us today to or schedule an appointment or to discuss a whitening strategy with our team.