A: Teeth whitening is any procedure that’s done either in the office, at home as a take-home kit or you can sometimes go to the store and buy whitening kits that will help your teeth add a shade or two of color whiter than what they were. Coffee stains, wine, over time teeth just will darken and so, sometimes it’s a mild approach and you can use the toothpaste at home that has the whitening. Sometimes you need heavier whitening options, and that’s when you would come into the office and we can treat you.
Teeth Whitening is arguably the most inquired about service when it comes to cosmetic dentistry in Houston. Everyone wants that youthful, toothy, ultra-white smile and how it boosts their self-image. While there have been many advancements in home whitening kits—the results they deliver can often be less than expectations and not nearly as dramatic as what a visit to a Houston dentist can give.
Seeking A Brighter Smile?
When it comes to teeth whitening in Houston, you can go about it in one of two ways: onsite whitening at a Houston dentist, or a take-home kit you get from the dentist or over the counter at your favorite pharmacy.
Most teeth-whitening options use peroxide bleach as the base for their whitening agent. Home-based kits are lower in the amount of peroxide at about 3 to 20 percent. Onsite treatments contain about 15 to 40% peroxide so, naturally, they give a better result
Typically the longer you have a stronger bleach on your teeth, the white your teeth will get. However, the stronger the solution, the less time it should be left on your teeth. If you leave the bleaching gel on too long, it can severely dehydrate your tooth and lead to varying degrees of tooth sensitivity and pain.
Whether you go with onsite treatment or a take-home teeth whitening kit, you should be aware that not everyone will see a change in their shade. For example, bleaching will not work on porcelain crowns or composite tooth-colored fillings.
That being said there are many patients that experience great success from teeth whitening and it just depends on your situation which method; onsite or take-home kit that you go with.
Onsite Tooth Whitening
Onsite teeth whitening just due to the strength of the gel and the additional technology available that expedites and intensifies the effect, is always going to whiten teeth much quicker. This is due to the addition of heat or UV light technology that is often used to speed the process up and boost effectiveness.
Some of the most dramatic changes that yield anywhere from three to seven shades brighter, usually require only a few in-office visits of about 45 minutes each. This makes it very convenient and delivers rapid results. However, at Comprehensive, we also offer a unique whitening system that can achieve those same results in a single appointment that lasts no more than two hours!
At-Home Teeth Whitening Options
There is no shortage of options these days for at-home teeth whitening kits. Even the toothpaste companies have focused significant energy towards tapping the home teeth whitening market. Some of the most popular choices include:
- Teeth Whitening Strips And Gel – These peroxide-based bleaching products have to be applied directly on your teeth with a brush or a thin strip and need to be done once or twice a day for a set time. Typically, this time frame is every 10-15 days. Manufacturers claim results last up to four or months or longer depending on what you buy and if you apply correctly. The cost is lowe to moderately expensive and the intensity of the white varies.
- Bleaching Trays –This at-home method is a little more complex and involves a mouth guard tray of sorts that is filled with the bleaching gel or paste and fits over your teeth where it must stay for up to several hours a day for about a month. These kits come in different forms and can be bought at your pharmacy or have one that is custom-fit to your bite from your dentist. The cost is significant and the tray can be somewhat inconvenient for people with busy schedules or always on the go.
- Toothpaste With Bleach Alternatives – All toothpaste helps remove stains from teeth as it is because they are slightly abrasive. However, whitening toothpaste also contains chemicals and polishing agents that help remove stains from teeth without using bleach. These toothpastes are inexpensive but only brighten by about one shade at most. Even though there are a few kinds of toothpaste varieties that do include bleach (peroxide) the toothpaste doesn’t stay on the teeth long enough to even have a mild effect.
Maintaining The Results
No matter which treatment you go with for teeth whitening, maintaining the results and making it last is the key to getting maximum value. The best way to go about this is being pro-active by brushing, flossing, and using mouth rinse daily. You should also avoid acidic food and drink that are rich in tannins such as:
- Black teas and coffee and coffee-based drinks
- Wine
- Sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, etc.
- Sodas
- Cherries, Berries and other rich-colored fruits
- Sauces such as soy, and BBQ.
Why Choose Comprehensive Dental For Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening at home, in addition to whitening your teeth can also have some unintended side-effects you may not be aware of until you experience them such as making teeth very sensitive temporarily or in some cases permanently.
Also if you do not use the home kits correctly and carefully follow the instruction you can temporarily bleach your gums and even burn them.
Teeth whitening is most effective on people with yellowing teeth but less effective for those with teeth that are brown in color. If your teeth are worse than that and are grey or purple, whitening won’t do anything, unfortunately.
The best way to make sure teeth whitening is a viable solution for you and that it’s done safely and correctly is to come into our office for a consultation with one of our smile specialists. They will be able to evaluate your teeth and see if our whitening procedure is going to give you good value and deliver significant results.
Benefits Of Comprehensive’s Onsite Teeth Whitening
Comprehensive’s expert whitening technicians give you a verified, tried and true procedure that is very safe and the most advanced technique in the Houston cosmetic dentistry field. Unlike most dentists that just put a topical gel on your teeth and let it work at the surface, we use high-intensity UV light technology that causes the pores on the enamel of your tooth to expand allowing the stains to be extracted from within the enamel layer. The type of equipment we use is not available for consumer purchase and isn’t found in many dentists in Houston or Texas for that matter. That is just one of the main benefits of coming in for onsite teeth whitening. There are many more benefits aside from having a clean bright smile when you leave:
- Mitigates the risk of damaging your enamel from inferior home kits or accidental improper usage.
- We only use a gentle, FDA cleared hydrogen peroxide whitening agent recommended by the American Dental Association.
- When you consider the repetitive costs and invasiveness of home kits, we are very affordable and the least invasive treatment option in existence.
- Our whitening specialists combined experience spans over two decades!
Do You Want A Brighter Smile Right Away?
The results we deliver with our onsite teeth whitening are not only astounding in shade difference and intensity, but the results are visible within only one hour of receiving our advanced treatment and easily last up to eight times longer than most other whitening methods.
Contact us today to book your consultation and get on your way to a brighter, happier smile with teeth whitening from Comprehensive Dental Group of Houston!
