Our patients may find salons that offer teeth whitening or home kits that claim to provide effective results. If salons do not have a certified dentist to administer the teeth whitening, it is in fact illegal and could be potentially harmful for the patient. Home kits are good for maintaining teeth whitening, but the chemicals used in a home kit are not as effective as the ones we use in our office and therefore will not give as white a smile.

The teeth whitening treatment begins with a consultation appointment, in which we assess whether the patient is able to have teeth whitening, and what shade of white they hope to achieve. Patients who are children, pregnant, or have certain types of restorations in the mouth will not be able to have teeth whitening.

Our dentist will create custom-fit teeth whitening trays that will be used during the bleaching process. These will be made from a mold of the patient's teeth, created in a dental lab, via CAD/CAM technology. Custom-fit trays ensure the bleach effectively whitens the patient's teeth and offers the best treatment.

During the whitening appointment, the dentist will ensure that the patient's gums are properly protected before applying the bleach. The bleach will be placed in the trays, and then put onto the patient's teeth. Then, a blue light will be set onto the teeth in order to activate the bleach. This should take approximately 2 hours to complete, and our dentist will give the patient top-up kits for them to do at home. The top-up kits will not give treatment as effective as the treatment received in office, but it will help maintain the color of the patient's teeth until the patient has them whitened again.