Teeth Whitening Before and After: Transforming Your Smile with Professional Whitening Treatments
Whitening removes discoloration from the enamel of your teeth, making them look healthier. It’s one of the most popular cosmetic dental procedures.
Teeth whitening treatments work by applying a hydrogen peroxide-based gel to the surface of your teeth. The whitening gel breaks down the molecules in stains, causing them to disperse.
The Before
Professional teeth whitening before and after Manhattan is one of the most popular cosmetic dental treatments available today. This simple procedure can lighten the color of stains on your natural tooth enamel, restoring their brightness and giving you a brighter smile.
Unlike toothpastes that contain harsh abrasive ingredients, our professional whitening products use safe bleaching agents to gently lift surface stains from the enamel of your teeth without damaging them. This can help you maintain a whiter, healthier, more confident smile by removing common stains that occur as a result of tobacco use, food and beverage consumption, and insufficient oral care.
Before your whitening treatment, we will apply a protective gel or rubber shield to cover your gums and soft tissues. Then we will apply a whitening gel to the front of your teeth and shine a special light on them to break down and diffuse color pigments, removing the discoloration that causes your stains. The whitening process typically takes less than an hour, and you can expect your teeth to lighten 8 shades or more.
The After
Traditionally, teeth whitening involved soaking the teeth in a hydrogen peroxide-based solution. This technique lifted stains but required multiple treatments to see results. Technology has sped up the process, making teeth whiter in less time and with greater comfort.
The whitening process is safe for most patients. To minimize the chance of sensitivity, we place protective trays over the gums and apply a desensitizing gel to prevent any irritation.
Once the whitening procedure is completed, we may recommend a few maintenance bleaching sessions to maintain your new white smile. We also provide maintenance trays for home use.
Tooth discoloration is natural and can be caused by aging, smoking, foods or beverages. While avoiding staining substances can help, sometimes stains are intrinsic, meaning they occur in the deeper layers of the tooth. In these cases, professional whitening is the best option. Our Manhattan dentists are able to brighten the appearance of the most stubborn stains with teeth whitening treatment.
The Maintenance
A professional teeth whitening before and after Manhattan treatment will remove surface stains, and in most cases your teeth will be a few shades whiter. The procedure itself takes less than an hour and uses a gel that is activated with a safe and cool blue-light lamp to safely whiten your teeth in one visit.
The key to maintaining your results is avoiding staining foods and drinks such as coffee, tea, red wine and dark soda. If you have to drink these, try using a straw to keep the beverage from coming into contact with your front-facing teeth.
If you can manage to avoid these food and beverages, your whitening results will last much longer. We also recommend using your take-home trays once or twice per month in order to maintain your results. It is important to remember that teeth whitening is not permanent, and the color of your teeth will eventually start to yellow again. In this case, a follow-up appointment with your cosmetic dentist in Midtown Manhattan would be recommended.
The Questions
Many patients undergo teeth whitening to help them look their best. Their reasons may be professional — studies have shown that those with bright smiles are viewed as more successful in business — or they might be personal: a wedding, a new job or high-school reunion.
In-office whitening procedures produce quick results; the hydrogen peroxide in a bleaching agent works to lighten and diffuse color pigments on enamel, resulting in whiter teeth. At-home bleaching techniques are typically used over a period of 2-4 weeks, and they offer more gradual results.
Immediately after a whitening treatment, it is important to avoid deeply colored foods and drinks (a good rule of thumb is that if it can stain a white shirt, don’t eat or drink it). Touch-up treatments can be done with a whitening toothpaste or mouthwash, and they should be performed about once every six months. Whitening products do not work on crowns, veneers, bridges or fillings, so these will need to be replaced if they become discolored.