Our Pickering dental office provides cosmetic teeth whitening procedures to help lighten the colour of your natural teeth.
Teeth Whitening Procedures
Teeth whitening, or bleaching, can be a way to help remove stains and lighten your teeth. At Pickering Smiles, we offer our patients both in-office and take-home options for teeth whitening.
In-Office Teeth Whitening
Your dental hygienist will begin the whitening process by placing a liquid rubber dam on your gums to guard them from the whitening solution. Next, they will apply the product to your teeth using a small brush-like applicator. The whitening solution is left on your teeth for 15 minutes. Next, your hygienist will wipe off the solution and repeat the application process three or four more times.
Take-Home Teeth Whitening
To get started with a take-home teeth whitening kit, you will first need to visit our office for a consultation. We will take impressions of your teeth so custom whitening trays can be created for you. Once the trays are ready, usually in about two weeks, you will return to our office to ensure the trays are a good fit before we send you home with them and the whitening solution. At home, you will wear the trays for about 30 minutes a day for a two-week period, unless otherwise recommended by your dentist.
The Whitening Solution
The active ingredients in the whitening solution are usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. Oxygen acts on the tooth enamel as the active ingredient breaks down, creating the whitening effect.
Why Teeth Darken
A number of factors can increase surface stains and darken the appearance of teeth, including:
- Yellow, brown stained teeth (which occurs naturally with age)
- Normal wear of the outer layer of the tooth
- Stained teeth due lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking), diet (e.g. consuming dark beverages such as coffee and tea), and medications (e.g. tetracycline)
- Fluorosis (excessive fluoridation during childhood)