Want A Whiter, Brighter Smile?

Dr. Rasmussen answers the question ……If patients would like whiter teeth, what are their options?

If you’re considering whitening your teeth, start with a visit to your dentist, because only your dentist can tell you if your teeth and gums are healthy enough to have a whitening process done. The other thing I want to clarify is when most people refer to whitening, they’re actually talking about bleaching, which is a product that will whiten their teeth beyond the natural tooth color, so I’m going mention the options we have for bleaching. We have in-office bleaching, which is done in a dental office, usually within an hour. The results are great, and the results are immediate, so it’s very advantageous. You walk in with dark teeth; you walk out with white teeth.

We have also custom-made trays with bleaching gel, also done in the dental office. This system takes a little bit longer, usually ten days to two weeks to complete. The results are also fabulous. The nice advantage is that it is a little less expensive than the in-office bleaching, and it’s also if you want to do a touchup down the road, you have trays that you can do a touchup in a year or two if you want to. Both these procedures are done in dental offices.

The results are amazing. They’re the best results you’re going to get with bleaching, in large part due to the high concentrations of the bleach. That’s why they are done in a dental office, because they have to be supervised by a dentist. Then, we have your over-the-counter whitening strips. These are purchased over the counter, like I said.

They’re fairly inexpensive. The results are variable, because the bleaches are very low concentration, and the other disadvantage is the strips usually only cover the front teeth, so you’re only whitening the front teeth. And then, you’ve got your whitening toothpastes, and these products contain abrasives and polishes to remove stain, but they truly have nothing in there to whiten your teeth.