Generally speaking, and for a variety of reasons, teeth tend to darken over time due to stains caused by a great many factors. These may include smoking tobacco, drinking caffeine, use of antibiotics and excessive fluoride. This is all in addition to the one factor none of us can control: aging. To turn back the tide of tooth discoloration that seems to be nearly unavoidable, several tooth-whitening options are available with Austin teeth whitening expert Dr. Mark Sweeney. Many of these solutions have proven to be extremely successful, often whitening teeth by a number of shades, and for periods of up to several years.
In order to whiten discolored and stained teeth, most teeth whitening methods use a form of peroxide to bleach the surface of the teeth. In these methods, none of the tooth surface is removed, but the tooth surface is lightened in the process.
An in-office tooth whitening typically involves a kind of bleaching gel, which is applied to the teeth. After this, heat, special light or a laser is applied to the gel, accelerating the results of the tooth-whitening process. This procedure typically takes less than an hour, and can be effective in as little as one appointment. Office bleaching, also referred to as chair-side bleaching, tends to produce the quickest results, but can also be fairly expensive. This method can be effective with only a few visits to a dental professional. Though it can be pricey, the effects tend to last longer than other procedures used in teeth whitening (up to a couple of years), as the concentration of peroxide in dentist-used bleaches tends to be significantly higher than over the counter brands, and therefore more effective.
In addition to cosmetic dentist tooth-whitening procedures, there are several other alternate in-office methods, at specialized centers, that do nothing besides whiten teeth. Patients can also have porcelain veneers placed at our Texas cosmetic dentistry practice to improve the appearance of their smiles. Typically supervised by dentists, these centers offer the use of “blue spectrum” light, rather than laser light, to accelerate the effect of the whitening agents they use.