Tooth Whitening
Tooth whitening may be used to lighten or rejuvenate your smile. There are four basic ways to bleach your teeth.
The first is to buy an off the shelf system from the local chemist or supermarket. These systems are cheap and their effectiveness is highly variable. One of the main problems is control of sensitivity and keeping the bleaching agent in the right place.
The second system involves custom made bleaching stents to hold the bleaching agent in the correct position against your teeth. Because your dental professional makes these, your teeth will be assessed for other potential problems such as sensitivity. At the same time a realistic assessment can be made of the amount of shade change that will be achieved. Other problems such as the need for replacing composite resin fillings will be pointed out at the same time. This system involves wearing the stents for one to three hours per day or over night for up to two weeks.
The third system is a rapid in office procedure that will achieve a dramatic result within two hours. During this process the teeth are isolated from all other tissues while a strong light activates the bleaching agent. The materials that are applied for the second system are included with this system so that you can self-maintain the level of bleaching. With this office bleaching systems, our hygienists will put you on a remineralising program prior to bleaching to ensure any sensitivity is minimised.
The fourth technique is used when a "dead" tooth changes colour. Bleach can be placed internally to dramatically whiten and brighten the single crown. |
