Professional Teeth Whitening

A bright white smile is frequently seen as a sign of youthfulness and good health, but very few of us are naturally blessed with beautiful gleaming white teeth. The shade of your teeth is influenced by your lifestyle choices, as for example, a liking for highly colored foods, red wine, tea or coffee can eventually stain your teeth. A diet that is high in acidic foods will have the same effect because it erodes and weakens your tooth enamel, increasing susceptibility to staining. Smoking is well-known for staining teeth, not to mention being terrible for your dental and general health! Sometimes the color of your teeth is simply due to genetics, so if your parents or siblings have darker-colored teeth naturally, it’s highly likely you will too.

Luckily, modern dentistry has a good solution that can help to remove deep-seated stains from your teeth, and that is to have a professional teeth whitening treatment. Although you can buy tooth whitening kits over-the-counter or online, these will not ensure you whiten safely and effectively. Teeth whitening is a dental treatment that when carried out incorrectly has the power to harm your pearly whites, so why take the risk when a professional treatment is so much better, and it’s highly affordable too? With a professional teeth whitening treatment, you receive many more benefits compared with an over-the-counter whitening kit and the products used by dental professionals are stronger and more effective, providing you with long-lasting results!

Our teeth whitening options here at Lakeside Dental include in-office treatments, or we can provide a fully customized home whitening kit. Both are equally as effective but work in slightly different ways.

In-Office Teeth Whitening

An in-office teeth whitening treatment is perfect if you are looking for quick results and a dramatic improvement in the color of your teeth. In just a single appointment, your teeth color could be lifted by several shades, and it’s the ideal treatment for a special event, vacation, or just because you want to treat yourself. During this treatment, your lips and gums are protected before your teeth are painted with a special professional strength whitening gel. We will choose the correct strength of the whitening gel to suit your dental needs while ensuring you remain comfortable. The gel quickly penetrates your tooth enamel, lifting even deep-seated stains. The gel may be removed and reapplied several times during your treatment.

Custom Home Whitening Kit

Alternatively, if you’d like to whiten your teeth more slowly then choose our custom home-whitening kit. This will contain teeth whitening trays made to fit precisely over your teeth, ensuring whitening gel cannot leak out and harm your gums. We will show you how to use the trays, including how to insert and remove them, and will supply the correct strength of whitening gel so you can whiten comfortably at home. The professional whitening gel provided for home use is slightly different from the gel used in-office, so it is safe and easy to use. All you need do is wear the whitening trays for a few hours each day, or if you prefer they can be left in overnight. A home-whitening kit can be a good choice if you’d prefer more control over your teeth whitening treatment, and it generally takes a couple of weeks to complete this procedure. Afterward, you can always reuse the whitening trays when you need to top up the results because we can supply additional whitening gel as appropriate.

Looking after Your Teeth after Teeth Whitening

Once you have whitened your teeth, you will undoubtedly want to prolong the results for as long as possible. We provide all the information you need to look after your teeth and to keep them as stain-free as possible. Usually, the first couple of days after teeth whitening, it’s best to avoid highly staining foods until your tooth enamel settles down. Avoiding or minimizing your consumption of foods that can stain your teeth will help keep your smile whiter for longer. It’s also important to make sure you have regular check-ups, and a hygiene appointment is a great way to restore some sparkle to your smile. Because your teeth are gently polished during a hygiene appointment, it does help to remove some surface stains, and of course, it helps to keep your teeth and gums beautifully fresh, clean and super-healthy.

Whitening Safely

Anyone enquiring about teeth whitening treatments here at Lakeside Dental must first be seen by our dentist Dr. Levi Miller for a quick check-up. A dental check-up is crucial if you want to whiten safely and effectively, because Dr. Miller will assess your dental health to ensure you do not have any existing dental diseases that could worsen during whitening, or at the very least could mean treatment is uncomfortable. If you do have any signs of dental disease such as untreated tooth decay, a failing restoration, or signs of gum disease, then Dr. Miller can suggest a suitable treatment plan to restore your oral health. Our primary concern is always your dental health!

Making Sure Teeth Whitening Will Meet Your Needs

Additionally, a check-up will determine if whitening is the most appropriate treatment, and you will learn much more about how it will help you and the type of results that can reasonably be achieved. Your mouth is unique, and everybody’s teeth will whiten slightly differently, depending on the natural shade of your teeth. For example, teeth with a yellowish tone whiten more easily than grayish toned teeth. Also, it is important to realize any dental restorations like veneers, crowns and bridges or fillings will not change color during your whitening treatment. Some teeth might have internal stains that need a slightly different method of whitening because conventional teeth whitening is specifically designed to lift external stains from teeth.

If you do have any teeth that are internally stained or have some aging restorations, we can discuss the best way to approach your treatment. For example, any internally stained teeth may best be covered up with dental veneers after first whitening the rest of your teeth. Aging restorations are also best replaced after you have finished whitening your smile because it’s far more effective to match the color of new restorations to your newly whitened teeth.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us today to let us help you brighten and whiten your smile!