Teeth Whitening

How Does Teeth Whitening Work?

Teeth whitening is perhaps the most common cosmetic dentistry procedure at South Nassau Dental Arts. Even the most beautiful smile can appear unhealthy or dull when teeth are stained or yellowed. Teeth whitening is a process where the tooth discoloration is “whitened” to a lighter shade. It removes the stain through chemical means, using a peroxide formula.

There are many over-the-counter products available to whiten your teeth at home, but these products cannot match the whitening strength of the professional-grade treatments provided at South Nassau Dental Arts. There are two methods of tooth whitening: In-office Zoom! Whitening, and At-home tray whitening.

1.) In-office Zoom! Whitening provides the quickest way to lighten teeth. In a little over an hour, teeth can whiten about 6-8 shades in color.

A protective film is first applied over the gums. Protection is also applied to the tongue and lips. The whitening agent is then painted on the teeth and a light is shone on the teeth for (typically) three 15 minute treatments to “activate” the peroxide solution. The gum, tongue, and lip protection is then removed and the procedure is complete. From beginning to end, the in-office treatment takes about an hour to an hour and a half.

2.) At-home Tray Whitening: With the tray method, impressions of your mouth are taken, from which carefully molded trays are formed. These trays are thin and light to wear. The patient adds a small amount of liquid to the tray and proceeds to wear them from two to six hours per day (may also be worn overnight) until the desired whitening is achieved. This process usually takes two weeks (or less, depending on the amount of time the trays are worn). The trays are kept and can be used again for touch-ups.

General Facts about Whitening:

• All whitening systems whiten your teeth, but when whitening is over, the color will fade about half a shade. Using the tray method in conjunction with In-office whitening will help maintain the results.
• Whitening can only be performed on clean, healthy teeth and healthy gums.
• Whitening will not whiten existing fillings and crowns.
• Teeth with yellow tones respond best to whitening. Teeth with a grayish cast or dark banding are hard to whiten.
• Whitening only works on enamel. Teeth which have thin enamel due to chemical or physical abrasion will whiten poorly. This should also be reviewed prior to starting treatment.
• Sensitive teeth are the most commonly reported side effect, and should lessen once treatment is over.

Call our Rockville Centre dentists today to schedule your teeth whitening appointment today!