When it comes to creating a healthy and beautiful smile, you deserve the experience and qualifications to assure sound results. Our focus is not just on esthetic beauty alone, but in the excellent structural quality of our work.
Our areas of expertise include whitening, bonding, cosmetic contouring, veneers and crowns. With our advancements in these areas, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped, or oddly shaped teeth. Even the most subtle change in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself.
Tooth Whitening (bleaching)
What Our Office Provides
Our office offers both professional in-office and at-home tooth whitening. We are constantly researching new products on the market and chose to provide the most effective whitening systems.
Professional In-Office Whitening
This procedure is a very popular option to achieve immediate dramatic results. It is performed by our dental hygienist where the teeth are whitened in 1-2 hours. A high concentration whitening solution is placed on the teeth after the gums are protected from exposure and the process is accelerated with a high-intensity light. During the procedure, patients can relax and watch television.
After the procedure, custom formed bleaching trays can be provided so patients can perform ‘touch-ups’ as necessary in the future, requiring only one or two applications of our at-home whitening solution. This will allow you to maintain a white smile for years to come.
Our professional whitening is great for individuals that need immediate results or have tried the at-home whitening and find wearing the trays over the treatment application period inconvenient.
Professional At-Home Whitening
At-home tooth whitening is a process where impressions of the mouth are taken and a plaster model of the mouth is then created in the lab. From this model, a custom-fitted tray is created that holds whitening gel around the teeth.
The trays are worn for 15 minutes twice a day, as compared to other whitening systems which can require wearing the trays as long as overnight. Whitening is usually achieved after 1-2 weeks of daily wear. The trays can be used for as long as the tooth structure in the mouth does not change significantly, therefore, touch-ups can be performed after routine dental hygiene visits as needed.
The whitening system that we are currently using is a high concentration product that causes minimal sensitivity and produces outstanding results. With any whitening procedure, it is essential that a complete hygiene and dental examination appointment be performed prior to any whitening.
How it Works
Hydrogen Peroxide is the active component in tooth whitening products, which converts into an oxidizing agent. This oxidizing agent enters the enamel and breaks up internal staining, causing the enamel to appear whiter.
The whitening product only works on natural tooth structure, therefore, there will be no change in color to exisiting crowns, bridges, fillings, or implant crowns.
Are there any Risks to Health?
Many studies have shown that tooth whitening is a safe procedure to alter the color of enamel. Hydrogen peroxide is a normal intermediate metabolite in the human body that eventually breaks down into water and oxygen. Carbamide peroxide, a common storage form of hydrogen peroxide, was used for years as an oral antiseptic.
As with any procedure, it is very important that directions be followed exactly. As well, it is important you store the product safely, ensuring it is kept out of the reach of children.
What are the Side-Effects?
Whitening can cause some temporary effects. The most common effect is increased cold sensitivity, which only lasts 24-48 hours after the last application of whitening gel. The degree of sensitivity varies among individuals. In addition, if you have gum recession it can leave the roots of the teeth exposed, which can result in sensitivity if the gel is applied to the area. The in-office procedure can protect these areas from exposure using the material which protects the gums.
Gum tissues can also become tender while bleaching at-home. This is usually avoidable by ensuring the gel does not come into contact with the gums by not overfilling the trays and by wiping off excess gel.