Some people naturally come by white teeth while others do not. There are also lifestyle factors that affect how white (or not so white!) a person’s teeth will be. If it bothers you that your teeth are not as white as they could be and that they are not sending the right message to others than you might want to find out more about what professional teeth whitening is all about. So what are the best teeth whiteners? Here we take a look at that.
Professional teeth whitening is a method or technique whereby a dentist applies whitening compounds to a patient’s teeth. In most instances these whitening compounds are peroxide-based.
The most common procedure used in dentist’s offices across the country is laser teeth whitening. This method is used to whiten teeth that have become discoloured and stained due to such things as smoking, drinking tea, coffee or red wine. Staining can also occur as a result of eating certain foods or the repeated use of antibiotics.
There are two factors that are related to the peroxide-based whitening compounds. First is the concentration of peroxide that is used and second is the length of time that the whitener is required to remain on the surface of the teeth. Both factors pay a role in the effectiveness of the whitening agent.
Laser teeth whitening is such that a high concentration of whitener is used. What this means is that it takes a shorter span of time for it to work. For example, it may take only a few hours and just a couple of appointments. Most patients like the speediness of the treatment.
The whitening kits come with their own bleaching laser or light. Some of the most popular whitening kits used by dentists include BriteSmile with the gas plasma light and/or light emitting diode, LaserSmile with the Biolase laser, LumaArch with the halogen light, Rembrandt Sapphire with the plasma arc light and Zoom!
Not all dentists will use the same whitening system. As well each system comes with its own level of effectiveness. Bear in mind too that every person’s teeth are different and therefore this plays a role as well.
When trying to decide which system will work best on a patient the dentist will need to compare the shade of the patient’s teeth to a special tooth shade guide in his office.
Both tartar build-up and surface stains must be removed before the tooth shade determination can be made. It is essential that a dentist documents both the pre-treatment and post-treatment shades. This is done to assess how effective the teeth whitening system was for the individual patient.