Dental bleaching, or teeth whitening is a process that is used to remove the stains that have been accumulated over time due to our diets and smoking habit and aging process rendering our teeth darker or more yellow is appearance. Here are several ways to brighten up our smile:

In-Office Dental Bleaching

In-office dental bleaching, also called laser bleaching, is usually done at the dental office taking approximately about 1 hr 30 min. The process involves the isolation of the mouth exposing only the teeth.  Once the isolation is completed, a 2mm layer of a 25% H2O2 bleaching gel is applied to the outside of the teeth that we want to brighten and a specialized light is used to activate the whitening process.  

Pro:

• Care is provided by the dentist and his staff
• Fast
• Optimal result

Con:

• sensitivity
• Cost

Take-Home Teeth Whitening

Take-home bleaching requires taking the impressions of the dental arches.  Once the impressions are taken, a stone cast is poured and a bleaching tray would be manufactured to fit the form of the teeth and hold the bleaching gel in place.  Patients would then be given either the 9.5% Hydrogen Peroxide syringes (recommended for 1 hr during the daytime) or the 22%  Carbamide Peroxide syringes (recommended for 7 hrs during nighttime) depending patients bleaching habit. The take home bleaching is less expensive than the in-office bleaching, and the sensitivity is usually not as big of a concern since the patient has complete control over the process.  However, it would require the patient to be more disciplined and also required more time to get the same level of brightness.