Teeth whitening is the name given to the medical procedure in which teeth are bleached to make them lighter. This procedure can lighten the existing color of teeth by several shades, getting rid of stains and yellowish looks.
In the recent years there has been a lot of home kits and over the counter products sold with a promise to make your teeth whiter. These kits may carry risks as not every tooth is a good candidate for whitening so it is always a good idea to consult a dentist before going through with it. Also most of these kits do not have enough whitening product to be effective.
• People who have stains in their teeth
• People who have yellow teeth
• People whose teeth have changed color due to smoking or poor diet choices
First you and your dentist decide on how many shades lighter you would like to go. Once you decide on the level of whiteness you would like to have then your dentist can inform you on how many treatments may be needed in order to achieve that color.
Usually it takes about 2-3 sessions to get the results most patient’s want. In these sessions our ITMT Group dentist will place a mouth guard in place to reveal the teeth and protect your gums. Then a bleaching product is painted on the teeth and a laser light is shone to activate the whitening. This takes about one hour.
Teeth whitening is not permanent. The results can last from a few months to a few years depending on your oral hygiene practices. There may be a little sensitivity in the gums after the treatment which should go away fairly quickly. Patients can resume eating and drinking immediately after the treatment.