Teeth Whitening

Q. I would like to have my teeth whitened. There are so many products and ads for whiteners that it is hard to decide which is best. What do you recommend?

There are several products and techniques available, which I recommend. The various over the counter products give the least predictable results and may cause permanent tooth damage – therefore, DON’T use them.

The 2 products we offer are as follows. Opalescence gets really great results in just over an hour in our office. A special gel is placed on your teeth. When the procedure is done, your teeth are 6 to 10- shades lighter! Your home kit comes with a set of custom trays so that you can maintain the whiteness of your teeth indefinitely. We recommend, once your teeth have been Opalecenced, that you use the custom trays once a month to maintain their whiteness. If not, the Opalecence results can last for 2 years, depending on your diet, tobacco, and coffee habits.

Or, if you prefer to whiten your teeth at home, we would take an impression of your teeth, fabricate a custom tray, and give you several applications of a whitening gel, which you would wear in your custom tray, each day for 7 to 14 days. There are various strengths of this gel, one requires 45 minutes a day of wear, and the other you leave in at night while you sleep. Once the results are rendered, it requires touch ups, monthly to once a quarter, depending on your diet, tobacco, and coffee habits.