Dentist Office Tooth Whitening Vs. Take Home Kits Article

	1888 Articles Home \| Health Articles	Health RSS
Dentist Office Tooth Whitening vs. Take Home Kits

Because your teeth are porous, they are naturally susceptible to stains. Everyone’s teeth discolor at different rates, based on your habits and the chemistry of your mouth. Staining influences like dark soda, coffee, red wine and tobacco often lead to dark and yellowish discolorations.

Author: Sara Goldstein

Article Tools:

Tooth whitening is a procedure that can brighten your smile and shed years off your appearance. When considering this treatment, there are two methods available through your dental professional: in-office power bleaching and custom-designed take home trays.

In-Office Power Bleaching

In-office power bleaching is the strongest, most effective way to lighten your teeth. This newer technique of teeth whitening can produce results in just an hour. However several dental appointments are advised for maximum effectiveness. Also, if your teeth are badly discolored, multiple appointments will be necessary to remove years of staining.

In-office power bleaching is performed with a highly-concentrated hydrogen peroxide gel. The gel is applied to your teeth, and then activated with a light source to accelerate the tooth whitening process.

This form of bleaching is ideal if you want to lighten your teeth more than a shade or two or have significant discolorations. Personalized trays are used so that your results will be precise and of the highest quality possible, up to 16 shades brighter.

Benefits

Additional benefits of in-office power bleaching include:

•It is performed by your dentist, so there is no pressure for you to perform the whitening correctly yourself
•It takes only one hour to see a whiter smile
•You do not have to wear uncomfortable at-home bleaching trays.
•It is safe and effective
•You can perform a quick touch-up at home to maintain your bright smile

Customized Take-Home Trays

Customized take-home trays should not be confused with over-the-counter whitening trays. The customized whitening trays made by your dental professional are tailored to your specific bite. The trays are created in a dental laboratory using impressions of your teeth and surrounding tissue. This ensures an accurate fit and consequently, an effective whitening treatment.

These dentist-dispensed take-home trays contain a high percentage of peroxide gel that lightens your teeth an average of four to five shades, but it is not as strong as the solution used with in-office power bleaching. The take-home bleaching compounds are either be pre-loaded into your customized trays or stored in syringes that you will add to the trays prior to use. A desensitizing agent can also be added to your bleaching compound to minimize tooth sensitivity after treatment.

The take-home kits typically provide enough gel for one two-week treatment, plus one- or two-day touch-ups every four to six months.
Benefits

The benefits of customized take-home trays include:

•You have more variety, whether you want to whiten your teeth one or several shades.
•You can whiten your teeth in the convenience and privacy of your home.
•Take-home trays are portable; you can whiten when you’re traveling or away from home.
•This method of tooth whitening is more cost effective than in-office power bleaching.

Difference Between the Methods

The main difference between in-office power bleaching and customized take-home trays is the effectiveness, cost and time it takes to see results. In-office power bleaching is the fastest, most effective treatment that can whiten your teeth up to 16 shades. However, it is the most expensive method, averaging between $700 and $1,500. Customized take-home trays are still highly effective, but will only lighten your teeth several shades. Take-home trays average between $200 and $600.

About Author

If you live in the Pittsburgh area and want to brighten your smile one or 16 shades, please visit the Web site for Pittsburgh cosmetic dentist Dr. Babak Firouzi, DMD.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-sara-goldstein-4751.html

Dentist Office Tooth Whitening vs. Take Home Kits