Tooth Whitening or Bleaching  

Tooth whitening or Bleaching can improve your smile and will make you want to smile more, which will make you a happier person, and more fun to be around. This can help improve friendships, relationships, and interactions with everyone you come across.

It can be also improving your self esteem and self confidence can also help you find better jobs, get promoted at your current job, or increase your productivity. Tooth whitening bleaching can change your life, and make you a much happier person.  However, not everyone's teeth will get as white as their favorite celebrity's with teeth whitening. It depends on many factors such as age, smoking, drinking behavior. Everyone has limits as to how whiteness of their teeth will improve.

Tooth color is in most cases an inherited trait, however, tooth color mainly depends upon the condition of the teeth, dental health and lifestyle. Various factors could lead to tooth darkening or discoloration. The most common factor are : the intake of staining fluids, such as cola, tea, coffee or wine; tobacco; cigarette smoking and time. Change in temperature of foods and drinks allow the teeth to expand and contract, thus enabling the penetration of stains onto the teeth. Foods that are slightly acidic open up the pores of the enamel and allow stains to move in. Teeth darken as we age because the staining factors act upon the teeth for a longer period of time.

There are a variety of different techniques, such as LED Cool light, Laser Bleaching, Zoom and BRITESMILE, which is completed  in the dental practice and takes around 1-2 hours. The main teeth whitening agents commonly used are CARBAMIDE PEROXIDE or HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (H2O2). Carbamide peroxide is made up of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and stabilizers such as urea, so it is longer acting than hydrogen peroxide alone. Because it is longer acting, those who are trying to bleach out internal stains such as tetracycline should make sure their whitening contains carbamide peroxide. It comes in different concentrations, so for the amount of time you should bleach:

- Lower than 10-20% concentration, overnight bleaching will be fine.
- More than 30% concentration, you should bleach for up to 30 minutes.

1. In-office bleaching The LED Tooth Whitening Procedure.

In just one visit, you can have a stunningly smile with our LED (blue light) bleaching techniques.
For Those who do not want to bother with the tray and bleaching gel at home, our Tooth Whitening or LED bleaching service is an alternative. This is done entirely in the dentist's office. The cosmetic dentist begins by cleaning each tooth to remove plaque. Once the plaque has been removed, the dentist covers the patient's gums with a protective barrier and applies a 35 percent hydrogen peroxide gel onto the teeth. A blue light activates the peroxide gel. The gel stays on the teeth for about 40 minutes, and then is rinsed off. The patient must not eat or drink staining foods for several days because the teeth are still "highly oxygenated" from our Tooth Whitening process.

2. Laser tooth whitening Procedure.

Laser Tooth Whitening is one of the most advanced, widely-accepted and effective tooth whitening methods in current use. It has transformed the appearance of thousands of patients. Even for those whose teeth are deeply stained, yellowed or gray in color, Laser Tooth Whitening offers outstanding results. It is more than just a cleaning, polishing or whitening of the tooth surface. Using powerful lasers, we are able to target stain molecules below the surface, within the structure of the tooth itself, oxidize them, and remove them completely.

3. Zoom tooth whitening  Procedure.

Zoom2 is second generation of the popular Zoom! Whitening System. This is the same product of Discus Dental Inc, USA who produce BriteSmile (Hollywood smile) system, the leading in North America teeth whitening market. Zoom2! system emit light wave ranging of 350-400nm to activate inclusive patent gel to make teeth whiter. The company claim approximately 7-8 shades different. The products are specially designed for their own systems; Zoom lamp, Zoom whitening kits, Zoom light guide and proprietary whitening gels.

	Treatment time	Results	Notes
	45 Minutes	Avg. 6-10 shades	- Immediate results - Long lasting - Less fading - Safe & Comfortable - Performed by a dentist
At Home Trays	7-14 Days	6 shades	- Self applied - Trays - No Immediate results
Whitening Strips / Paint on Gel	7-30 Days	3-4 shades	- Inconsistent tooth whitening - No Immediate results
Tooth Paste	1 month++	1-2 shades	- Results fade if you stop using the toothpaste - Superfical stains only

4. At-Home Tooth Whitening

Tooth bleaching kits take approximately two to three weeks to accomplish the desired level of whiteness and must be used under the supervision of a dentist. Using Tooth Whitening Gel. The dentist begins the Tooth Whitening process by checking the teeth for cavities . The Tooth Whitening gel could damage teeth with cavities in them. If cavities are found, they will be repaired before Tooth Whitening begins. If no cavities are found, the teeth will be cleaned to remove plaque and take impression for custom tray, a mouth tray will be custom fitted. The dentist will then provide a peroxide-based Tooth Whitening gel. The mouth tray should be filled with the Tooth Whitening gel and worn overnight for two to three weeks.

In Office vs At Home Tooth Whitening

In Office , the dentist will put the bleach gels on your teeth, then shine a light on the teeth for about an hour, while you watch television or whatever. If you want it done instantly, do it in the office. The actual process takes about 2 hours because there is some prep time involved. A common one for this process is, LED Cool light tooth whitening.

For teeth whitening at home, dentists will take impressions of your teeth, make Teeth whitening trays for you, and give you the whitening gel to fill the trays with. You put the gel into the trays, place the trays in your mouth, go to sleep (or some people may not want to leave them in that long) or leave them in for an hour or however long, and you are done. You will likely need to repeat this process over multiple days/nights, depending on what type of results you get.

Rest assured though, the trays are very comfortable, and are easily tolerated by most individuals. With this reason, many people prefer to do the in office teeth whitening to get the immediate results, then get the trays so they can touch up at home as they need to down the road.
 

EXTRINSIC stains are on the outer layer of the tooth, and many of them can be bleached out while INTRINSIC stains are INCORPORATED into the tooth, and it may or may not be able to bleach these stains out. If they do come out, it definitely will take much longer and much more bleaching (months vs weeks). These stains were incorporated into the tooth structure during tooth development, so they are not mere surface stains.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tooth Whitening