Teeth Whitening at Home or the Dentist's Office

Online, June 11, 2013 (Newswire.com) - At their Lynbrook Dental Office the Dental Associates of Long Island encounter a lot of questions about discoloration of teeth. Many of their clients are curious as to exactly how, even with appropriate maintenance, their teeth can end up stained and what they can do to reverse it.

The basic rule of thumb is: if it can stain a white shirt, it can stain your teeth. Coffee, smoking, wine, and just the food you eat every day can stain teeth. Even proper maintenance can leave them a little lackluster. While avoiding things that may stain your teeth is one method, it just might not be that practical. The alternative is teeth whitening.

Teeth whitening is an excellent way to restore the natural color of your teeth or even make them whiter than your natural color, if you would like. There are a variety of teeth whitening products available over-the-counter. There are toothpastes, strips, gels, and rinses. These can be effective at reducing stains but some of our patients have found that they need something more and come to us for help. At our Lynbrook office we use a tray whitening system. Our system works in two steps.

First, we make an impression of our patients' teeth, much like we would make for creating a retainer. From that impresstion we will craft custom whitenting trays that can be used over and over again.

Second, we provide our patients with a custom gel to use at home. A small amount of gel is placed in the trays and the trays are worn for fifteen to thrity minutes per day. After approximately one week our patients report that their teeth are several shades brighter. Sometimes as much as four to eight shades brighter.

Alternative to the at home whitening we offer to our patients we also offer a chairside procedure for whitening teeth. We utilize a product called Zoom!, a safe gel that is applied to the surface of a patient's teeth. Then, we use a low intensity light to activate the gel. After about an hour in our office with this procedure our patients will report an increase in tooth whiteness of up to six to ten shades.

If you're interested in having brighter teeth, then teeth whitening may be for you. Just the normal use of our teeth can lead to some discoloration. Adding teeth whitening to your oral care regimen can combat that discoloration. For more information about teeth whitening visit us at Dental Associates of Long Island.