A sparkly and pearly white smile is that perfect little boost of confidence for any occasion. Luckily at Valley Family Dentistry it’s easily attainable through their in-office procedure of teeth whitening done by certified dental professionals. A lot of positive things can be said about someone who is proud of their smile and loves sharing it with the world. Although many patients opt for teeth whitening if they’re attending a wedding or other special event, having a bright smile is something everyone can benefit from at all times.
We here at Valley Family Dentistry love seeing the radical transformation when someone comes in for the procedure and leaves with teeth sometimes five shades whiter! So we wanted to take the time to talk to our patients about what to expect when they come in for that well-deserved pearly white smile they’ve always wanted.
Our teeth are composed of multiple layers and the top layer is called the enamel. When someone smiles it’s actually only their enamel that we see when we look at their teeth. The overall experience of in-office teeth whitening is the brightening or whitening of the surface of the enamel. The solution we use doesn’t affect the deeper parts of the tooth.
For this reason not all patients are candidates for teeth whitening. If someone has an internal stain on a tooth, meaning the dentin is stained or discolored, they wouldn’t see any effects of teeth whitening. However, there are other means to have a pearly white smile and we would love to talk to you about it at in office visit.
The process to receive in-office whitening is pretty simple. What we offer our patients in the beginning is a cleaning if the patient hasn’t had a dental cleaning. We debride the surface clean that way the area is ready to absorb the ingredients we use for the procedure. Once the patient is in the chair, we first record a start and finish shade of the patient. It’s always exciting to see the final shade that they have achieved after the whitening. I always explain to patients that once the teeth hydrate from the treatment within 24 hours the teeth will appear even brighter!
After recording the starting color of the teeth the next thing we do is create a barrier so that the active ingredient for the whitening only gets applied to the teeth. It’s important to protect the soft tissue, including the cheek, gums, lips, and generally everything in the mouth. We do this with specialized cotton pieces made to protect the mouth.
The whitening solution is chemically activated with UV light, which is why we take such precaution to protect the patient, including UV protection glasses for their eyes.
Once the active ingredient is started the procedure is executed in three sessions of 15 minutes each.
The patient is still able to communicate with the dental team since it’s important for us to know you are comfortable. Once the session is complete we remove the barriers created with the cotton pieces to reveal a shiny white smile. A lot of times we are able to see a great difference after just one interval, but we do recommend the full 3 sessions to get the maximum results.
After, we gently apply a fluoride varnish to help condition the enamel of the teeth. What many patients aren’t aware of is that active ingredient in the whitening solution will dry the teeth for the first 24 hours. That could possibly make a patient’s teeth sensitive to cold or air. By us applying the fluoride it will help decrease that sensitivity. We send home a take home kit so the patient can continue to apply that fluoride.
To help maintain a nice bright smile after completing a teeth whitening it’s important to follow post procedure guidelines as best as you can. That includes avoiding foods with dark tannins like coffee, tea, red wine, and any kind of food with sauces like BBQ sauce, mustard or ketchup. We encourage the patients to follow these guidelines as closely as possible to enhance their teeth whitening experience to up to 6 weeks!
We welcome all people to see if they’d be a candidate for teeth whitening. The benefits speak for themselves in the first compliment patients receive about their astonishing smile. We love giving that boost of confidence and doing whatever possible so people can enjoy their pearl beauties.
Thank you for your interest in our office! We are happy to answer any of your questions. Please call us today to set up an appointment to receive your special sparkling smile today (956) 423-0191.