Teeth Whitening: Do it the Professional Way

There is a popular saying that goes like, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” There is no doubt that a beautiful smile radiates infectiously to others. Let us put an emphasis on the word beautiful. How does one possess a beautiful smile? Of course you have to agree that heredity cannot be singled out. Lifestyle and attitude also play part in the maintenance or even having a sweet smile. 

But what if you can not incorporate a do-it-yourself way to your busy lifestyle so as to have a smile makeover transform your simple smile into a rather healthy and “infectious” one? In this case, a professional treatment by a dentist might be the best remedy.

The following article provides an appraisal of a professional teeth whitening system usually provided and conducted by dentists. 

Professional teeth whitening is a technique by which whitening compounds that are peroxide based are applied to teeth by dentists within their dental office. Laser teeth whitening is the common practice of dentist to whiten teeth stained by nicotine, food, or even liquids. 

Peroxide-based whitening compounds usually depend on two factors:

1.    The concentration of peroxide in a whitening compound
2.    The amount of time a whitener is put in contact in the surface of the teeth

Laser teeth whitening utilize a higher concentration of whitener for a shorter period of time, say for hours or for few appointments.

The whitening compounds and associated equipment (bleaching light or laser) used by dentists are normally purchased from a manufacturer as a franchise, system, or simply as a kit. In fact, many manufacturers have provided national campaigns about their whitening products and equipment, and dentists play a vital part in the promotion of a manufacturer’s product because they are actually using the product to their patients.  

Below is a list of some professional whitening products dentists and professionals choose. (The kind of bleaching laser or light is enclosed in parentheses.) 

1.    BriteSmile (gas plasma light/light emitting diode)
2.    LaserSmile (a Biolase laser)
3.    LumaArch (halogen light)
4.    Rembrandt Sapphire (plasma arc light)
5.    Zoom! (metal halide light)

Each of these whitening systems has its own degree of effectiveness. However, we can summarize three standard steps when using these types of products.

1.    The dentist will compare the tooth shade of the patient with a tooth shade guide.

Surface stain and tartar are removed before determining the tooth shade. A dentist needs to document a pre-treatment and a post-treatment tooth shade to assess the effectiveness of the whitening treatment system applied. A dentist may make use of variously shaded tooth-shaped porcelain tabs and compare them to a patient’s set of teeth and each match is documented. Some dentists even take pictures of a patient’s teeth before and after the treatment. 

Flour of pumice is used to polish each tooth to ensure that stains are completely removed.

2.    The dentist will isolate teeth being whitened.

Bleaching agents, normally peroxide-based, can irritate or even damage delicate tissues within and inside mouth of patients. To protect these tissues, dentist use dental dam barriers.

Thin sheet of latex punched with a hole for each tooth and dental gels painted around each tooth are used to protect teeth being treated. When the latter is used, a cheek retractor, cotton rolls and gauze are used to make sure that the patient’s lips and cheeks are held out of the way. Afterwards, these items are simply peeled off. 

3.    Bib covering and eye protection are placed on the patient.

Unexpected things can happen. Bibs are worn by patients to protect their skin against the caustic nature of these bleaching agents. 

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