Whitening

Teeth whitening is a treatment that whitens and brightens smiles.  It can be done in office or at home. Most whitening agents contain either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide as the active ingredient. We recommend patients who would like to whiten to have trays fabricated that are molded to their teeth.  For the at home whitening patients place gel in the trays using 1/3 of a whitening syringe for each whitening session.  Patients are instructed to wear the trays anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours a day depending on the concentration of gel used.  In our office most patients are given opalescence 20% which is to be used 2-4 hours a day. 

Opalescence whitening contains both potassium nitrate to prevent tooth sensitivity and fluoride to strengthen your teeth and prevent cavities. Patients continue to whiten until they get to their desired shade. At this time it is advised to wait 2 weeks for the teeth to rehydrate and the tooth shade to settle in. Patients may need to touch up this shade every so often.