KAREN LARTIN, DDS

Tooth Whitening

• Your teeth must be healthy, with no active decay (cavities) on the front of the teeth.

• Slight to moderate tooth discolorations can usually be lightened successfully; if discoloration is severe, crowns or veneers are usually a more predictable treatment to lighten tooth color.

• Non-vital teeth, those which have had root canal treatment, or are dead from trauma, require a separate bleaching process.

• Whitening is not a totally predictable process; some teeth respond better than others. The younger teeth are, the better they whiten.  Yellow teeth respond better than gray teeth.  The only way to determine the bleaching potential of your teeth is to complete the procedure and evaluate the results. 

• Your bleached teeth may require re-treatment occasionally to maintain the new, lighter shade.  This maintenance can often be done with professionally provided at home kits; for other cases,a repeat session of in office power whitening might be necessary.  Time intervals for touchups varies for each individual, assessed annually.

• Teeth with porcelain crowns or veneers will not change shade

• Old ‘white fillings’ will not change shade and may need to be replaced to match the new shade of your smile.

• Tooth Sensitivity – This is the most common side effect of whitening.  If teeth become sensitive to thermal changes, most often to cold for more than a few days.

• Gum or Lip Tenderness – Occasionally, areas can become irritated if the reagents come in contact with the gums, lips or cheeks; if this happens a harmless, mild sloughing of the superficial layer of the skin occurs;  you will be given a soothing rinse and monitored for full recovery.

• Immediately after the whitening procedure, your teeth will be at their lightest shade, which will rebound a little bit.

• You may require more additional whitening to achieve a very light shade, but as mentioned above, some teeth lighten more than others, there may be limitations.

• To maintain the shade obtained, you must avoid dark colored foods, especially red foods and drinks, such as wine or fruit juice or beets, also tomato products, coffee, tea, cocoa for at least 48 hours.

• Custom trays made to fit your mouth, are provided for you to wear at home. Gel dispensing syringes are used to place the whitening gel into the trays.  These trays are typically worn for one half hour per day, for up to fourteen days or to desired shade.    This method offers control and allows for simply touchups.

• Some people may require more whitening, depending on initial shade and desired amount of shade.  Remember, all teeth lighten differently and predictability is inherently limited.

• Some people develop sensitivity to cold after whitening, and it should return to normal.

• As teeth age and are continually exposed to staining foods, they will darken again; follow – up whitening, at home will be needed to maintain your smile.  Maintenance schedules vary by individual; one person may need whitening once per year, another, every few months.