San Mateo dental practice shares how professional teeth whitening can keep you smiling

Your smile is often your first chance to make an impression. If you are embarrassed by yellow or stained teeth, it can keep you from smiling and may send off the wrong first impression. Even slight discoloration can impact your confidence, luckily there is often an easy fix. Professional teeth whitening from Dr. Belen at San Mateo Dental Care can lift the stains from your teeth, revealing a vibrant, pearly white set of teeth. Below, we’ll look at professional teeth whitening and why it will keep you smiling for many years to come.

Professional teeth whitening explained

At San Mateo Dental Care, we use professional at-home whitening treatments. The system uses a custom-fitted tray and a professional-strength bleaching gel that can be used in the comfort of your own home to gradually whiten teeth. The medical-grade gel contains peroxide that loosens and lifts teeth staining pigments from deep in the enamel.

You may have noticed many dental offices advertising brighter smiles in just an hour. While these in-office treatments can be effective, they can also cause discomfort in the form of greater sensitivity for some patients. The UV light used to activate the bleaching agent also has the potential to damage the tissue and lips surrounding the teeth. At-home whitening treatments gradually whiten teeth for beautiful results but with less sensitivity and discomfort.

Getting started with teeth whitening

To get started with your treatment, first, you must undergo an oral examination to ensure that you are in good oral health and your teeth have enough enamel to be able to sustain the whitening treatment. Any issues such as tooth decay or gum disease will need to be addressed before getting teeth whitening.

Following the exam, impressions are taken of the mouth and will be used to create your custom-fit whitening trays. When your trays are available, you can return to the office to pick them up along with the medical-grade whitening gel. You will be given instructions on how to apply the gel and how long you should wear the trays each day. On average, patients wear them for about an hour every day.

Once your teeth have reached your desired level of brightness, you can stop using the trays. Make sure to save them along with the whitening gel for periodic touch-ups whenever needed. Maintaining your newly whitened smile requires good oral hygiene including brushing at least twice each day and flossing every day. Avoiding dark pigmented foods and beverages will help prevent further staining.

Benefits of professional teeth whitening

In addition to improving your confidence and appearance, there are also other benefits of teeth whitening. A whiter smile can lead to improved oral health since you are more likely to practice good oral hygiene to keep your smile attractive. Other benefits include:

• It makes you look younger
• It makes you look healthier
• It makes you more attractive
• It gives you more reasons to smile

Professional teeth whitening vs. alternatives

You may be wondering why you should choose teeth whitening from your dentist when there are plenty of kits available at your local grocery store or pharmacy. Over the counter, methods are typically far less effective than professional methods. This is because the bleaching agents are weaker, and the one-size-fits-all trays don’t work for everyone’s mouth. Before you spend any money on over-the-counter methods, consider the following benefits of professional teeth whitening from your dentist:

• Professional whitening is more effective with better results.
• Professional whitening is controlled by your dentist to minimize side effects.
• Professional whitening uses a medical-grade bleaching agent that is much stronger than over the counter methods.
• Professional whitening uses custom-fitted trays for even whitening across all the teeth.
• Professional whitening trays are much easier to use than strips or molds from over the counter methods.
• Professional whitening kits can be saved for periodic maintenance treatments to keep your smile sparkling.

Get your brand-new smile today with teeth whitening from San Mateo Dental Care

Are you ready to learn more about professional teeth whitening? The next time you’re in our office for an exam, make sure to mention it to one of our team members. We’re happy to talk to you about the benefits of professional teeth whitening along with the other cosmetic dentistry treatments that we offer. To book an appointment, give us a call at (650) 344-7500.