Teeth Whitening

Everyone wants a whiter smile, right? Sometimes teeth are not in need of a complete makeover, they just need to be whitened. Teeth darken with age, and there are ways to reverse that natural process that are both effective and painless.

Some external factors like smoking and drinking coffee or tea cause superficial stains that can be removed by routine cleanings. However, when your natural shade causes you embarrassment, it´s time to make a change. Enter teeth whitening.

Most times, teeth can be lightened by several shades using various processes. Some products and processes work better than others. Some don´t work at all. At Northside Family Dentistry, we´ve searched far and wide to find the very best, most predictable ways to whiten your smile.

Traditionally, in-office or take-home bleaching treatments caused significant sensitivity problems with many patients. While some could tolerate the temporary discomfort, many found the treatments too painful to continue and gave up. Other bleaching systems offered less sensitivity but resulted in very little shade change.

We have found a system that allows us the best of both worlds. We can significantly whiten your teeth AND do it with minimal sensitivity through a process called Deep Bleaching.

First, impressions are taken to fabricate special trays that fit your teeth properly. Poor fitting trays have been the most common source of failure in previous bleaching systems.

When your trays are ready, your teeth are polished to remove any stains and films that might hinder the solution from reaching your enamel. A special whitening solution is placed into your trays and the trays are then inserted into your mouth. You are free to read or listen to music as the solution begins to work. In less than an hour, your teeth are already beginning to whiten. However, the goal of this first treatment is NOT to whiten – it´s to condition the enamel to accept the bleaching solution as you sleep.

You´ll wear the trays to bed each night for two weeks, using a different kind of gel in the trays. At the end of the two weeks, you´ll see a drastic change in the shade of your teeth!

If your teeth are still not as white as you´d like them, you can return to our office for a second in-office treatment similar to the first. Again, you´ll wear your custom trays while you read or just relax and, in less than an hour, your teeth will be as white as they can possibly be.

So, depending on how white you want your teeth to be, we can offer a variety of treatments. For some, just the overnight treatments are enough. For others, or those with very dark teeth, the whole treatment regimen is required to achieve the desired level of whitening.