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In-office bleaching?
At-home bleaching?

2007-01-21 08:54:38 · 8 answers · asked by Nobody Important 2 in Health Dental

8 answers

There are a number of different ways to whiten teeth. There are two main choices. One is professional bleaching which requires visiting a dentist and the second is over the counter whitening i.e. buying it from a retail store.

The Dentist has 3 different ways to bleach teeth:

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Chair side bleaching, which involves getting your teeth, bleached in usually a single dental visit.
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Dentist supervised at-home-whitening where the dentist takes moulds of your teeth and fabricates custom-made bleaching trays, which you use at home with a professional strength-bleaching agent.
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Purchase Professional strength Crest Whitening Strips. This is the same as the strips you can buy in retail stores but it is a professional strength and therefore more effective.

Chair side bleaching can be done in two ways. The dentist uses a very strong bleaching agent alone or in combination with a light/laser. With both, the dentist cleans your teeth with a sandy, pumice-like material to remove plaque and cleans the surface of the tooth. Then a peroxide-based gel is applied after which a light may be applied to assist the whitening process. Some gels are self-activating and others are activated and by the use of a light. The laser does NOT whiten teeth. It merely activates the bleaching gel and initiates the chemical reaction that produces the whitening effect (the laser doesn't actually penetrate the teeth). The procedure takes about an hour and a half and offers immediate results, although it may take more than one session to achieve the desired level of bleaching.

The at-home bleaching method requires a visit to your dentist for an exam to make sure that you don't have any cavities or cracks into which the bleaching solution could leak and cause tooth damage, and to get fitted for a mouth tray. You will fill the tray with a bleaching gel provided by your dentist and wear the combination either overnight or hourly depending on the strength of the bleach dispensed. The most effective way to whiten teeth is to see a dentist.

There are over-the-counter options available for tooth whitening. However, because they are intended to be used in an unsupervised fashion, to avoid the potential for serious damage to the teeth and gums the bleaching agents they contain are significantly weaker than those that can be obtained through a dental professional. Therefore, the results you might expect from these products are significantly limited as well. Without custom-made trays, the whitening mould is large and uncomfortable. Also the whitening stuff is not confined to the mould and tends to go everywhere. A recent popular option are the crest whitening strips which maybe a better option for those who don’t want to wear a cumbersome mould.

No matter which method you choose, how white your teeth will get depends on what color they are to begin with and the source of the discoloration. Brown or yellow teeth (often the result of superficial staining caused by smoking, coffee, and tea) will usually get four to five shades whiter. Gray teeth (caused not by stains but by pigment deep inside the tooth) will lighten less -- two to three shades at best. To determine the initial color of your teeth, compare them to a sheet of bright white computer paper held up to your mouth.

Chair side bleaching is the fastest but also the most expensive -- anywhere from $400 to $1,000 per session -- and usually requires more than one session. Take-home professional bleaching kits cost anywhere from $200 to $500, and can be used on your own schedule. Over-the-counter options, as you might expect, are the least expensive, but again, tend to have limited effectiveness. The most common side effect of any of these procedures is sensitivity to hot and cold, but that lasts only while you are using the bleach and tends to persist for 1-2 days.

2007-01-21 10:01:32 · answer #1 · answered by Ironic 4 · 1 0

Crest Whitestrips are dentist recommended for home use.
They can lighten your teeth up to 3 shades.
It's also relatively unexpensive as compared to going to your dentist for a laser whitening treatment.

I do believe though that the whitening techniques they use in the dental offices have the best results. Teeth will be whiter and the effects last longer.

Just remember you can do alot yourself to help with keeping your teeth white. Try to limit your amounts of coffee and teas and drink more water. Also, alot of stains are intrinsic and come from within your body and cannot be corrected with topical whitening methods. Many antibiotics, such as tetracycline cause a grey staining that is permanent.

2007-01-21 09:04:31 · answer #2 · answered by Kurius_Kitten 4 · 0 0

Crest Whitening Mouthwash

2007-01-21 09:27:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Get bleach trays made you will get fast results. The zoom done with the light in the dentist office, your teeth will be very sensitive!
Even with bleach trays I recommend working up to wearing them overnight. Start out with two hours and if you are okay increase your time.

2007-01-21 12:09:23 · answer #4 · answered by TIM'S HOUSE 3 · 0 0

i'd say to try crest whitestrips or another at-home kit. they work pretty well and can lighten your teeth a few shades. also it's not too expensive.

2007-01-21 08:58:14 · answer #5 · answered by dmmed 2 · 1 0

Both are good, office is better

2007-01-21 08:58:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Try brushing with bicarbonate of soda;

2007-01-21 08:59:16 · answer #7 · answered by huggz 7 · 0 1

whitestrips

2007-01-21 09:01:56 · answer #8 · answered by rcmitchell 2 · 0 0

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