Benefits of Professional Teeth Whitening

Do you have stained or discolored teeth? Have you been unsatisfied with the results of doing at-home teeth whitening kits? At Washington State Prosthodontics and Dental Implant Center, we have a lot of patients who come to us for a whiter smile because nothing beats the results of professional teeth whitening. We offer patients treatment options that produce striking, long-lasting outcomes.

Benefit #1 - Customized Whitening

Every patient has unique needs, but drugstore whitening products are all made as a one-size-fits-all type of treatment. When you seek out professional teeth whitening¹, on the other hand, the dentist uses a special, professional grade teeth whitening gel and by using special tools, the gel is applied evenly and then activated using a special curing lamp. Each tooth receives the same amount of treatment and achieves the same level of brightness. The results are a lot different than what can be achieved using a whitening tray or strips purchased at the local drugstore. That's not saying that some patients can’t get good results from these at-home treatments, but just that professional whitening treatments use different technologies and a much more thorough approach to each individual tooth in the patient’s mouth.

Benefit #2 - It’s fast!

Over-the-counter teeth whitening products often have to be used regularly for several weeks or months in order to see results. Many patients never see results from these products. But professional teeth whitening is different. With one treatment, the results are noticeable, yet they look natural. And it only takes about an hour! Patients can expect to leave our office after one teeth whitening session with results that are up to 10 shades brighter than what they arrived with!

Benefit #3 - Controlled Results

Teeth whitening products that are purchased at a drugstore produce low-grade results that are not easy to control. In other words, many patients either see no results, or they see unnatural results. At Washington State Prosthodontics and Dental Implant Center, we customize your results, so you have control over the final outcome of your treatment. That means you can choose what shade you’d like for your teeth to be at the end of your treatment and we make sure that each tooth receives the full whitening treatment.

Benefit #4 - It’s easy and comfortable.

Many of our patients report that when using at-home teeth whitening kits purchased at the drugstore, they experienced tooth or gum sensitivity or pain. This is caused by hydrogen ions or the whitening agent making contact with or penetrating the tooth or gum’s surface. It happens when the trays or strips are not sized properly for the patient’s mouth. But during a professional teeth whitening treatment, the gums are protected with a covering to prevent the whitening agent from causing sensitivity. Afterward, a fluoride treatment is recommended to help reduce teeth sensitivity.

Benefit #5 - Professional Strength Results

Store-bought teeth whitening products contain only a small amount of whitening agent. In most products, this amounts to 3% peroxide which is only strong enough to target light stains and even for very light stains, the product may not be strong enough to remove them completely. For severe or intrinsic stains, most patients will see little or no results from over-the-counter treatment because the whitening agent simply isn’t strong enough to achieve noticeable results. In contrast, professional teeth whitening uses a gel with up to 35% peroxide strength (over 10 times stronger than drugstore products!). That’s why our professional treatments get such amazing results and why the store-bought kits fail to wow patients even after many treatments.

Benefit #6 - Get excellent outcomes from a safe treatment.

Generally speaking, teeth whitening is a safe treatment, whether performed at home or in the office. But at Washington State Prosthodontics and Dental Implant Center, we offer teeth whitening that’s safe and we take special care to avoid issues with extreme sensitivity or discomfort. We examine the teeth to make sure that the stains will respond to a whitening treatment, which will help you avoid striving for impossible results or possibly even harming your teeth (since whitening the teeth too much or too often can cause dental damage over time).

Benefit #7 - Long-Lasting Results

While at-home teeth whitening products tend to produce results that only last for a brief period of time, one professional teeth whitening treatment can last up to a year. The long-lasting results are desirable because one professional treatment takes very little time (usually no more than an hour), and the results are striking. Patients can enjoy the benefits of an attractive smile with very little care and maintenance required.

Benefit #8 - A Confident Smile

Patients who have stained or yellowing teeth tend to have tight-lipped smiles, which can lead to social problems. People may believe that the patient’s tight-lipped smile is due to unfriendliness or a lack of self-esteem. So having a professionally whitened smile can make a big difference in a person’s social life. Some of our patients even report that they have done much better on dates and at job interviews as a result of having their teeth whitened. Having a confident smile can change a person’s life, which is why this procedure is so popular these days. A bright, natural-looking smile provides an excellent first impression, no matter what the situation.

Benefit #9 - Treatment with Expertise

One of the biggest advantages of getting professional teeth whitening done is the expertise of our staff at Washington State Prosthodontics and Dental Implant Center². Our dentists have special knowledge about teeth staining. The first step of your teeth whitening process is an exam of your teeth to determine the cause of the staining. Most patients have extrinsic stains that appear on the exterior of the tooth. These are caused by foods and beverages that are consumed regularly along with other lifestyle and environmental factors. But some patients have intrinsic stains or stains that come from the inside of the teeth. These stains may be very difficult or impossible to remove and they may even be resistant to professional treatment.

Teeth that look darker than normal may not just be discolored, but rather, they could be in a state of decay. Our dentists will identify these problems and correct them, rather than just covering them up with a whitening treatment. Patients can expect to leave our office, not just with whiter teeth, but also, with a healthier smile overall.