Teeth Whitening in Appleton, WI
Safe and Effective
Tooth Whitening, or bleaching, is a safe and effective way to give you a bright white smile and remove unattractive discoloration. It places whitening solution on the teeth to remove discoloration and stains.
We offer several methods at our Appleton dental office. Each differs in the strength of their whitening agents and the time they take to remove discoloration. They are:
- In-office bleaching with Boost – usually done in one appointment.
- Take-home whitening trays with opalescence
- Deep Bleaching – combination of in-office and at-home whitening – Best Overall Result!
- Crest White Strips – Now available in Professional or Supreme strength. They’re 42% to 80% stronger than over-the-counter white strip products and can only be purchased at a dental office like ours.
How Does It Brighten My Smile?
For all three techniques above (not including the preformed Crest Strips), we take impressions of your teeth and custom trays are carefully fabricated to closely adapt to the teeth. A whitening gel is applied to the inside of the custom-fitted trays, which are generally worn for a certain time period, depending on the type of whitening you choose.
The active ingredient in most of the whitening agents is carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide; when water contacts this white crystal, the release of hydrogen peroxide lightens the teeth. Carbamide peroxide is dispensed in varying concentrations, ranging from 10%-35%. There are also hydrogen peroxide gels that are dispensed in the “Deep Bleaching” and in-office procedures.
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How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?
Whiter teeth should last several years, depending on your personal habits such as smoking and drinking coffee and tea. At this point, you may choose to get a touch up maintenance kit. This procedure may not be as costly because you can probably still use the same custom trays that were originally fabricated. The re-treatment time is also much shorter than the original treatment time.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Take?
The at-home system could take 3 days to 2 weeks to fully bleach your teeth. The in-office system takes just over 90 minutes. Deep Bleaching involves a sequence starting with an in-office “conditioning” appointment, which takes about an hour.
The next step involves wearing custom trays at home and at night for the next 2 weeks. The final step involves a strong in-office treatment to finalize that “WOW!” factor, which takes about 90 minutes.
Whichever system you choose, the end result is the same: whiter teeth!
What Are Realistic Expectations?
Every case is different and depends on the type of stain and your cooperation. Typically, there is a two to five-shade improvement as seen on a dentist’s shade/color guide. However, with Deep Bleaching, results can be more dramatic, with changes up to an eight-shade improvement.
Whitening can only provide a shift in color from gray to a lighter shade of gray, for example. Also, and very important, whitening does not bleach artificial restorations such as bonding, crowns, or porcelains. However, it can help restore the original color of the restoration when it was first applied.
Is Tooth Whitening for Me?
Generally, whitening is successful in at least 90% of patients – though it may not be an option for everyone.
Consider tooth whitening if your teeth are darkened from age, coffee, tea, smoking, etc. Teeth darkened to the color of yellow, brown, or orange respond better to whitening. Other types of gray stains caused by fluorosis, smoking or tetracycline are lightened, but results are not as dramatic.
Overall, and especially with the Deep Bleaching, we see excellent results, creating a “WOW!” factor.
Some patients may experience slight gum irritation or tooth sensitivity, which will disappear when the treatment ends. If you have very sensitive teeth, periodontal disease, or teeth with worn enamel, we may discourage whitening.