Tooth Whitening, sometimes referred to as “bleaching”, is a safe, predictable, and effective procedure for the majority of patients, when done correctly. Our office has provided these services to the satisfaction of hundreds of patients over the past 17 years.

All whitening systems use variations of peroxide-based chemicals to effect tooth shade changes of varying degrees. Some of these preparations work well for some patients; others work well for other patients. We stock numerous agents, and we will take the time to determine which one works best for you.

It is unfortunate that something as simple as tooth whitening has been overmarketed, overhyped, and in some cases dangerously overdone. A preponderance of unscientific, marketing-driven systems now shout at us from newspapers, magazines, and other mass media.

“Light-Activated Bleaching”, “Laser Whitening”, “In-Office One-Hour Whitening”, and systems with cute brand names are not what they claim to be. 

These systems dehydrate teeth to a damaging degree; the overdried state of the teeth causes a temporary whiteness, which relapses over a few days. Furthermore, the use of lights in combination with the peroxide gels can increase the temperature of the pulp of the teeth. This can result in pulp death, requiring endodontic (“root canal”) treatment. Since years may elapse before symptoms arise, the unsuspecting patient has no idea that his tooth pain was caused by an uninformed dentist using unscientific and ineffective techniques.

The only tooth whitening system proven safe, effective, and predictable is the time-honored one: custom-made sheaths are fabricated by the dental office or laboratory; the patient is given these, plus one or more whitening gel preparations, to use at home.

The type of preparation, and the particular schedule of use, are communicated to the patient by the dental office, and are specific for each patient.

The most common concerns regarding whitening are tooth sensitivity, and slight gum redness.  If sensitivity occurs, we can control it with in-office desensitizing; with the use of fluoride gel prior to using the whitening gel; or by switching to different gels until one is found that is comfortable for that patient.  If any slight gum irritation occurs, it will resolve when the whitening procedure is finished.

ALL tooth whitening will relapse over time; the rate and severity vary from one patient to another.  Simply reapply the whitening agent in the custom-made sheath to reestablish your preferred degree of whitening.

Certain over-the-counter products have been shown to work well for some patients, as long as there is an adhesive strip to confine the whitening solution tightly against the teeth.  The disadvantage is that only about 6 teeth or so can be whitened at one time.

We encourage all reading this to pursue the conservative, time-tested whitening technique described above; alternatively, one of the adhesive over-the-counter products may work well for you and save you some money.  We do not advocate any of the “accelerated” techniques, and are well acquainted with the scientific research supporting our position.