Stratford Dental Bloomingdale, IL

If you are considering whitening your teeth, it may be because you have never liked the shade of your teeth, or perhaps they have just gotten darker over the years.

It is important to have your teeth evaluated by a dentist before you begin in order to avoid some unforeseen problems. If you have cavities or cracks in the teeth, whitening can lead to significant sensitivity. If you have fillings in your front teeth, they will not change shade and you may end up with a very undesirable result; you may need to consider veneers in addition to whitening. Teeth whitening can be done at home or in the dental office. Whitening material provided by your dentist is not harmful to the teeth.

The in-office whitening procedures are more expensive but produce the results in one visit. Even healthy teeth can become sensitive temporarily. The dentist will provide a custom fit plastic tray that you can use to apply a desensitizing agent to your teeth. He may also recommend a desensitizing toothpaste. The trays can also be used to continue to whiten at home or to periodically touch up. The whiter the teeth become, the more often you will need to touch up, perhaps once or twice a month. No whitening is permanent because the foods we eat and drink make them darker, which is why we whiten in the first place.

The at home method is less expensive and can produce the same result as the in-office techniques. It involves applying the whitening material to your teeth for about 30 minutes per day for about two weeks. This can be done at a convenient time, usually in the morning beginning in the shower. It is important to use whitening kits provided by a dentist, mainly because the tray is custom fit to your teeth. Over the counter kits have trays that are not custom fit and can allow the whitening material to contact the gums which can cause some significant sensitivity. Some over the counter kits include whitening material which can be harmful to the teeth.