By Sherry Gross


People who are bashful about smiling due to teeth that are less than pearly white, can say goodbye to this problem with just a visit to the dentist. Rather than throwing away money on less effective commercial products that claim to whiten teeth, these individuals can choose a professional teeth bleaching procedure which can be done either at the dentist's office or with a handy, take-home whitening kit.

The dentist will first examine the patient in order to determine if he or she is a suitable candidate for whitening. If the patient has teeth that are stained on a deeper level, restorations in the front, worn enamel, or very sensitive teeth, it may be best to take another approach.

An in-office whitening treatment involves first applying a protective shield or gel to the gums, and next treating every tooth with a bleaching agent that will then be activated using a special blue light. This process takes about an hour and provides quick results, if the patient desires a lighter shade a second treatment will be needed.

With the take-home whitening kit, the dentist takes an impression of the patient's mouth. At a dental lab, the impression is used to make customized whitening trays. Upon returning to the dentist, the patient will be given the trays along with the solution and the dentist will instruct him or her how to use it. In most cases the solution-filled trays are worn daily for a minimum of thirty minutes, for about a two-week period.

This approach to whitening offer many benefits to those who decide to go ahead with it. Overall, it restores a person's confidence in his or her appearance, improving their looks and making them even appear younger. It's versatility means that not only can it be easily customized, but it may also be applied in combination with other forms of cosmetic dentistry, and it produces quite dramatic and fast results.

Patients generally appreciate the short treatment time involved in these whitening methods. Most report teeth which are up to eight shades whiter after just one hour with the in-office technique. While it takes longer for results to be seen with the at-home kit, it does produce improvement as well eventually and comes with the added convenience of not having to leave home, enabling patients to carry on their usual activities during its use.

It is the choice of many patients also because it tends to cost less than other procedures such as crowns, porcelain veneers, and bridgework, and it is also less invasive. A safe procedure, there is still the slight risk that some people will experience irritation if they are sensitive to the whitening formula. These professional treatments carry less risk of side effects than their commercial counterparts do however.

The final results of a whitening treatment are influenced by a few factors. It depends on how badly stained the patient's teeth are, what their natural shade is, and the particular method used. Lifestyle habits such as smoking, taking certain medications, and drinking red wine, coffee, or tea, can also cause fading to occur earlier and encourage new stains to form, in which case a second treatment will be necessary.




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