Clearwater Dental Associates -

Teeth Whitening

Everybody loves a bright white smile, and there are a variety of products and procedures available to help you improve the look of yours.

Many people are satisfied with the sparkle they get from brushing twice daily with a fluoride-containing toothpaste, cleaning between their teeth once a day and the regular cleanings at the dentists office. If you decide you would like to go beyond this to make your smile look brighter, you should investigate all of your options.

Whitening your teeth is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your smile and boost your self-confidence.

What should you ask your dentist?

You may want to start by speaking with your dentist. He or she can tell you whether whitening procedures would be effective for you. Whiteners may not correct all types of discoloration. For example, yellow-ish hued teeth will probably whiten well, brownish-colored teeth may whiten less well, and grayish-hued teeth may not whiten well at all. Likewise, whitening may not enhance your smile if you have had bonding or tooth-colored fillings placed in your front teeth. The whitener will not affect the color of these materials, and they will stand out in your newly whitened smile. In these cases, you may want to investigate other options, like porcelain veneers or dental bonding.

There are several approaches available at Clearwater Dental Associates to whiten your smile:

• In-office whitening;
• Prescription strength at-home whitening;
• Over the counter strength at-home whitening;
  

Watch this video to learn more about prescription strength at-home whitening.

What is in-office bleaching?

If you are a candidate for whitening, we may suggest a procedure that can be done in the office. This procedure is called chairside whitening and may require more than one office visit. Each visit may take from 60 to 90 minutes.

During the chairside whitening procedure, we will apply a protective gel to your gums and other soft tissues to protect them from the whitening agent. A very strong whitening agent is then applied to the teeth and is left on the teeth for approximately 60 minutes. This procedure is the quickest way available to whiten your teeth.

Ever wonder why teeth darken? Watch this video to see some reasons why teeth darken: