Supervised At-Home Teeth Whitening
One of the simplest procedures can make a powerful impact on your appearance. Dr. Patel and his team provide an in-office Laser Whitening service, or a supervised, take-home teeth whitening program. Either system can be very effective. Choosing which one will work for you depends a great deal on your personality, and the time and money you want to spend.
Dr. Patel will help you decide which approach will work best for you, and will give you honest opinions about whether or not whitening procedures will give you the smile you want. If you have tetracycline stains, for example, porcelain veneers may be the best way to achieve a beautiful smile. As demonstrated by the pictures below, an at-home system can yield stunning results if properly applied.
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At-Home Teeth Whitening—Basic Procedure
If you decide to go with an at-home system, we will first schedule you an exam to make sure it will work for you. Then our office will make you a custom-fit clear plastic “tray” that you can wear over your teeth, either during the day or at night. Whitening gel is placed in the tray, which stays in place for several hours each day.
Individual cases vary quite a bit, but for optimal results, you usually must have daily whitening treatments for a week or two, and sometimes more. Our office will make sure you are making good progress with a short follow-up visit.
You can keep your whitening trays, and use them for maintenance treatments every couple of years or so, depending on the degree of your recurrent staining. Most people tend to continue eating and drinking the foods and beverages that gave them the stains in the first place, so the best course of action is to plan on a “touch-up” every few years.
Bleaching—even for an extended period of time—does not damage your teeth or gums. Call our office or request an appointment online to talk about which teeth whitening procedure will work best for you.