Dental Services
Whitening / Bleaching Services
Teeth whitening or bleaching is a very popular and easy way to improve your smile. With minimal time and effort years of coffee, soda, citrus, and tobacco staining can be erased simply by using a teeth whitening system. Whitening teeth does more for you than just change the shade of your teeth, it gives you a brighter, more youthful smile and as a result, patients find they actually smile MORE! Once you have your whitening service under way, you can stop hiding your teeth and your smile, instead, start showing it off.
At our office, you can choose which whitening approach works best for you, we offer At-Home Whitening or In-Office Whitening. Some patients choose BOTH. The in-office whitening gives them an immediate result and then the At-Home Whitening allows them to continue the process or use as a touch up so they continually have a whiter brighter smile!
At-Home Teeth Whitening - Custom Trays and Professional Strength Whitening Gel
You will need two appointments for this service. At the first visit an impression is taken of the teeth (of each arch to be whitened). Between your appointments, a tray is made to custom fit each arch being treated. At your second visit, we will try-in your custom trays to insure they fit properly and make any adjustments needed. You will be given your starter set of bleach gel and instructed on how to use the system at home.
You can either wear them during the day for 30 - 45 minutes or overnight. The active ingredient ceases to work within one hour, so the material will not harm your teeth if you wear them longer. Once you have achieved a shade you are pleased with, then utilize your trays and remaining material to maintain your shade, as often or infrequently as you prefer. Some patients touch up their smile weekly, while others monthly. The frequency needed depends on your habits and how they affect the color of your teeth, it is all up to you at this point. When you get low or run out of your initial bleaching gel, you can purchase refill sets of whitening gel at our office. We also offer 2 different strengths, since some people tend to have greater sensitivity to teeth whitening, we have a lower strength gel so whitening is more comfortable for them.
At-Home Teeth Whitening - Custom Trays and Professional Strength Whitening Gel
You will need two appointments for this service. At the first visit an impression is taken of the teeth (of each arch to be whitened). Between your appointments, a tray is made to custom fit each arch being treated. At your second visit, we will try-in your custom trays to insure they fit properly and make any adjustments needed. You will be given your starter set of bleach gel and instructed on how to use the system at home.
You can either wear them during the day for 30 - 45 minutes or overnight. The active ingredient ceases to work within one hour, so the material will not harm your teeth if you wear them longer. Once you have achieved a shade you are pleased with, then utilize your trays and remaining material to maintain your shade, as often or infrequently as you prefer. Some patients touch up their smile weekly, while others monthly. The frequency needed depends on your habits and how they affect the color of your teeth, it is all up to you at this point. When you get low or run out of your initial bleaching gel, you can purchase refill sets of whitening gel at our office. We also offer 2 different strengths, since some people tend to have greater sensitivity to teeth whitening, we have a lower strength gel so whitening is more comfortable for them.
How is your At-Home Teeth Whitening different than what you can buy at the store?
There are a few major differences! First, the trays are entirely different, they are either "one size fits most" or they are "heat and mold to your teeth" which are much bulkier and not something you would be comfortable talking while wearing or having someone else see you wearing them. The trays made in the office are very thin and custom made to fit your teeth, they are also trimed so they do not hold the gel against your gum tissues. When trays are made like this, you will use much less gel to cover the front surface of your teeth, so typically the amount of get you receive with your trays at our office will last much longer than the systems you buy at store. The whitening gel is also different, when you buy whitening systems at the store, they are over-the-counter strength, the gel we provide you is prescription strength and can only be provided by your dental office. With a stronger gel, correctly applied in custom trays, you will get faster results and will not have to wear them as frequently for touch ups. So what seems less expensive at the store, could end up costing more over time.
In-Office Teeth Whitening
Our office utilizes two different products for in-office whitening treatments. You can choose from Zoom© or Boost© (the links for each are at the bottom of this section if you want more information about them) for your in-office treatment. Both of these in-office whitening services are a one visit process, where we apply the bleaching material to the teeth being treated, leave it on for a certain amount of time (or with Zoom, also known as laser whitening, a special light is used), and then remove it. The visit takes approximately 1-2 hours and you leave shades whiter than when you arrived. Zoom© whitening also includes custom trays to use at home for maintaining your new white smile!
The teeth whitening process has not been found to adversely affect the tooth’s enamel or make the teeth more cavity prone. Two very short-lived side effects are slight temperature sensitivity and slight gum irritation, both of which quickly subside if you cease the whitening treatments for a short time or utilize prescription fluoride rinses or gel at home, which strengthen the enamel and thus decrease sensitivity.
Most patients can expect to have a good result with either bleaching system. There are some individuals however whose teeth do not respond well. These are usually patients with discolorations that occurred during the development of the teeth or un-crowned teeth which have previously had root canal treatment. Dr. Seaman will evaluate your teeth at your appointment to make sure that bleaching is right for you. Don't worry, if teeth whitening will not solve your particular issue, there are other ways to give you a bright white smile and these options can be discussed at your visit.
In-Office Teeth Whitening
Our office utilizes two different products for in-office whitening treatments. You can choose from Zoom© or Boost© (the links for each are at the bottom of this section if you want more information about them) for your in-office treatment. Both of these in-office whitening services are a one visit process, where we apply the bleaching material to the teeth being treated, leave it on for a certain amount of time (or with Zoom, also known as laser whitening, a special light is used), and then remove it. The visit takes approximately 1-2 hours and you leave shades whiter than when you arrived. Zoom© whitening also includes custom trays to use at home for maintaining your new white smile!
The teeth whitening process has not been found to adversely affect the tooth’s enamel or make the teeth more cavity prone. Two very short-lived side effects are slight temperature sensitivity and slight gum irritation, both of which quickly subside if you cease the whitening treatments for a short time or utilize prescription fluoride rinses or gel at home, which strengthen the enamel and thus decrease sensitivity.
Most patients can expect to have a good result with either bleaching system. There are some individuals however whose teeth do not respond well. These are usually patients with discolorations that occurred during the development of the teeth or un-crowned teeth which have previously had root canal treatment. Dr. Seaman will evaluate your teeth at your appointment to make sure that bleaching is right for you. Don't worry, if teeth whitening will not solve your particular issue, there are other ways to give you a bright white smile and these options can be discussed at your visit.
Both Zoom and Boost deliver effective whitening results. The Zoom system comes with At-Home trays and starter bleach for follow up at home, the Boost does not, but you can always get our Boost and At-Home Whitening systems if you want to do both and you opt to use Boost for the in-office treatment. Many patients who choose Boost are not interested in whitening at home, they just come in for a Boost treatment when they feel they need it.
Find out more about: Zoom or Boost
Internal Tooth Whitening or Bleaching
If you had a root canal done on a front tooth, or in some cases a severe blow to one or more of your front teeth, your tooth could be darker due to the tooth being "dead" or "dying." When this is the cause of your discoloration, once the tooth has had a root canal (if not already done) then the dentist can access the inside of the tooth, from the tongue side, and use a special bleach inside the tooth. The external whitening options explained earlier will not work for this condition. Internal bleaching will take multiple short visits to change out the bleach inside the tooth and then a tooth colored filling will be placed to seal the tooth back up once the right shade has been reached.
So if you are wanting a whiter smile, either talk to Dr. Seaman about it at your next routine visit or contact us now to schedule a Smile Consult to discuss whitening and determine which service will fit your needs.