Many patients desire to enhance their natural smiles with a variety of cosmetic dental treatments, including teeth-whitening, porcelain veneers, porcelain inlays/onlays, porcelain crowns and full mouth reconstruction.
Whitening (sometimes called, "bleaching") is a procedure that is designed to lighten the color of your teeth. An important component of your aesthetic, or cosmetic dentistry, whitening will enhance your smile and lift your confidence.
Who are the best candidates for whitening?
Almost anyone is a candidate for whitening. Experience shows that people with dark yellow or yellowish brown teeth sometimes achieve better whitening results than those with gray or bluish-gray teeth. Multi-colored teeth, especially if stained due to tetracycline, do not whiten as well. In addition, teeth with many fillings, cavities, chips, etc., are usually best treated through bonding, porcelain veneers, or porcelain crowns.
What types of whitening are available?
In-Office whitening:
This process can be done in one visit, but may require two or more visits depending on how your teeth respond to the treatment. Each appointment should take between one and one & one-half hours. Due to the strong whitening gel used in this procedure, either a resin or a rubber shield must protect your gums. Once the gums are protected, the gel is applied to the tooth surface. In many cases, a special high intensity light will be used to further activate the gel. In-office whitening can also be done to lighten a tooth that has had a root canal. In this case, the tooth is whitened both from the inside and the outside.
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