Teeth Whitening Techniques

There was a moment when dazzling white smiles belonged to those who sashay down the red carpet in Hollywood. Today teeth whitening has become the quickest growing kind of cosmetic dental procedure done. Depending on the type of tooth whitening method you choose, the price ranges from a ten dollars for a tube of whitening toothpaste to up to $600.00 for in office laser teeth whitening.

The Cadillac of teeth whitening is the in office laser system. This is the costliest, but fastest way to achieve white teeth. Laser teeth whitening is a very simple rocedure. The dentist applies a bleaching gel to your teeth (after putting protection over your gums) and places a laser light in front of your mouth. The cleaning action of the gel is activated by the light. This gel is left on your teeth for 20 minutes. The application is usually applied two more times to your teeth. In about one hour, you leave the dentists office with the whitest teeth possible.

A very popular and mid priced tooth whitening technique is the tray based system. You can purchase these systems in stores. However, they're best if you have the trays made by your dentist. It takes a very short time in the office to have an impression made of your upper and lower teeth. Within a week, the dentist will have a soft flexible plastic mold for you. He will give you the gel, which is generally a 10% carbamide peroxide and he will advise you in how to use the tray and tell you how frequently. Results are seen quickly with a tray system.

Whitening strips are a recent add-on to the market, introduced in 2001. They're quite inexpensive and do work, but might not provide the exact results that you think. The strips have the advantage of having the exact dose of carbamide peroxide pre applied on them. However, the whitening strips will only whiten the teeth they come in direct contact with. The strips usually cover the six center teeth, eyetooth to eyetooth. Several people find their smile is longer than the strip permits for. You won't attain a full mouth of white teeth using whitening strips.

One more kind of whitening system is whitening toothpaste. Whitening toothpastes have many disadvantages. They take a very long time to display real results. Read their claims cautiously. The success of whitening toothpaste is directly related to how long and how often you brush. However, over-brushing your teeth can bring about the loss of tooth enamel. Tooth enamel can't be replaced. Also, whitening toothpastes only impact the outside layer of enamel. This will make the yellowness of deeper layers of teeth more evident. Numerous people will whiten their teeth using an in office laser, or a tray system and then make use of whitening toothpaste to assist keep their teeth white.