Professional Teeth Whitening
Make Your Smile Radiant
Do you wish your teeth were white again? Tired of yellowed or stained teeth that mar your smile every time you eat or talk? We’ve all seen them, those dazzling bright teeth on other people that make them look so good. Well, there’s no reason you can’t have them too! We specialize in whitening the smiles of our Peoria, East Peoria, Washington, Metamora, Morton, and Pekin patients. At East Peoria Dental Group, we know how to help you regain that youthful smile with professional teeth whitening.
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What Causes Teeth to Become Yellow or Darker
There can be many reasons why teeth change from their very white color when young to yellow, dark and discolored. Aging is one. Teeth just naturally begin to lose their white color and luster as the years go by because the enamel thins and becomes more transparent. Dentin is the layer of tooth material underneath the enamel, which is naturally darker colored. This darker color begins to show through more as the enamel wears down.
Other factors that can cause teeth to change color:
- Coffee, tea, colas, dark berries and red wine
- Tobacco products
- Genetics
- Certain medications, such as tetracycline
- Prior dental work (i.e. root canal problems)
- Fluoride in large amounts
- Certain developmental disorders
- Trauma to a tooth or teeth.
What About Over The Counter Options
Teeth-Whitening Strips
Teeth-whitening strips (such as Crest White Strips) are thin, flexible plastic(polyethylene) strips with a thin film of hydrogen peroxide on one side. Whitening strip kits come with two types of strips: strips for the upper teeth and strips for the lower teeth. The whitening agent is applied by placing the strips across your teeth and gently pressing the strips to ensure contact with all your teeth. Teeth-whitening strips are typically worn for 30 minutes a day, twice a day. The duration of treatment will vary. While more affordable than professional whitening, there are some drawbacks to whitening strips. Because they are over the counter, they use a very diluted bleach, and thus are unable to whiten as effectively as professional whitening. In addition, the trays are one size fits all, therefore many people’s teeth don’t fit in the trays correctly. This results in only certain portions of the tooth getting whitened, while the other portion remains discolored.
Whitening Toothpaste and Mouthwash
The least expensive options are whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes. Designed to have “whitening” capabilities, toothpastes and mouthwashes work to remove surface stains using mild abrasives. However, unlike the materials used in professional whitening procedures, these products do not lighten the actual color shade of the tooth. Whitening toothpastes affect surface stains and will mildly lighten your teeth.
Our Professional Whitening Procedure
Our team will take an impression of your teeth so that custom trays can be made. These tailored trays seal completely to make sure that saliva does not seep into them during the whitening process, as saliva will degrade whitening gel. The whitening gel is also kept refrigerated immediately after it’s manufactured as well as during shipment to our office. This maintains the integrity of the gel’s potency.
You will then wear your gel-filled trays at home during sleep for two weeks. After that, one or two office visits will put the finishing touch on your whitening procedure, if needed. You won’t have to worry that your teeth will look unnaturally white. In fact, they will be naturally white, just as your real teeth would look if they had never become discolored. Your teeth will remain white for your lifetime if you perform regular maintenance after your initial treatment. You can be confident that the level of whitening you experience will be many shades whiter, giving you a brilliant smile.
