Teeth Whitening
Dallas, TX – Teeth whitening is one of the most common procedures performed in cosmetic dentistry and is very successful in helping to remove stains from teeth and improving the look of your smile. Teeth whitening is a very simple and painless procedure and can have a dramatic impact on the look of your teeth.
Having your teeth whitened by a cosmetic dentist allows you more control over the process and the final color than if you tried to do it yourself at home. Even though there have been a lot of teeth whitening kits released for home use in recent years, they are difficult to administer and can have dramatically varying results. Also, since they are sold without a prescription, they are nowhere near as effective and long lasting as having the process done by a cosmetic dentist would be.
The main ingredient in the most of the teeth whitening treatments is peroxide and it is usually found in concentrations of 10%, 16% or 22%. The teeth whitening kits sold at drugstores have a lower concentration of this peroxide and will take longer and require more treatments to achive the desired results. Having this teeth whitening procedure done in a cosmetic dentistry office can accomplish the desired whiteness in a single visit because a stronger concentration of peroxide is used along with other dental procedures.
In addition to the process being done in the dentists office, the dentist can also sell you a teeth whitening kit that you can use on your own. This kit will contain a custom fitted tray that is used to hold either gel or liquid whitener. This is different from the kits that are sold at drugstores for two reasons. First, the tray is custom fit to your mouth by the dentist and will give better results than the generic tray included in most over the counter kits. The tray that is included with the drugstore version will fit more loosely and may allow the whitening gel to come into contact with your gums and this will cause irritation. Secondly, the concentration of peroxide in the whitening gel or liquid included in the kit from your dentist is much higher than the drugstore alternative.
This teeth whitening kit will still need to be worn for a couple of hours a day or overnight and will need to be used for a few weeks to achieve the same results you would get if you did the in-office bleaching, but can be much less expensive.
Another option that some people try are the teeth whitening strips. These are made of a material that is infused with the peroxide solution and this material is attached directly to the teeth. This contact allows the peroxide to bleach the teeth and cause a whitening effect. These actually take longer than the over the counter tray and gel version since the concentration of peroxide in them is lower.
The best solution for most patients is to visit their cosmetic dentist and either have them do the whitening as an office visit, or create a kit that the patient can use at home. This is the safest and quickest method to whitening your smile.
Biographical Info: Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Walnut Hill located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. He also runs a local search marketing firm, MarketingMeasure and employs those additional capabilities in the overall marketing services menu of offerings. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or pcrum@MarketingMeasure.com.