Discoloration or stains on your teeth may make you feel uneasy about your smile; luckily, you don’t have to feel this way forever when whitening options are available! Although, it may be difficult to know which whitening option is best for you when there are several options available at Walgreens, CVS, Target, WalMart and dental offices.
Dental office whitening treatments:
In fact, many dental offices provide services to their patients for teeth whitening. Depending on the office, they may offer an array of whitening treatments available to you or offer an individual whitening treatment that they know works best. These different whitening treatments may consist of “whitening trays,” typically referred to as “bleach trays,” and light-activated whitening treatments.
Whitening trays are made in a dental office, which are customized to fit specifically to an individual’s own teeth. These trays look extremely similar to Invisalign aligners in appearance, but they are meant for whitening purposes only. In order to whiten the teeth, the trays are loaded with a gel-like substance that contains the bleaching agent and are placed on the teeth for a given amount of time. Typically, the trays will be worn with the bleaching agent daily ranging anywhere from a few days to a week, depending on the dentist’s suggestion.
As for the light-activated whitening procedure, the brand of bleaching agent that is used may vary among dental offices. However, the whitening treatment should remain close to the same. To give you an example, some dentists use Zoom teeth whitening, which is done during an appointment at the dental office. The dentist isolates the lips and gums, and places a whitening gel that contains pH-balanced hydrogen peroxide that helps to remove the discoloration and stain once activated by a special light. As a benefit, the entire Zoom treatment only takes about an hour to complete!
Over-the-counter Whitening Products:
There are also whitening products available on the market that you can purchase in stores like the whitening strips from Target or Walgreens. It’s important you know that these may not be the best whitening option for you to consider. While the whitening strips may work, they can contain higher concentrations of a bleaching agent, which can increase the chance of sensitivity. On the other hand, some whitening strips may have very weak concentrations of the bleaching agent, making it ineffective.
What to do:
If you can, it is recommended that you choose a dentist’s whitening system, it’s much more effective long-term and you will want your results to last! If cost is an issue, speak with the dentist to find the right option that works for you and your budget. More often than not, any dentist is willing to work with you in order to give you a beautiful smile you’ve always wanted!
Would you like more information?
If you’d like to learn more about whitening or are looking for a dentist who offers whitening services, contact River Run Dental Spa today. We gladly offer Zoom whitening treatments for those in Richmond and Short Pump, Virginia. This teeth whitening system is quick and effective!