What Are My Teeth Whitening Options?

There’s nothing like beautiful, dazzling teeth. Unfortunately, teeth can lose their brightness and luster. Read on to learn about the many ways to turn up the volume on your teeth.

A beautiful, bright smile boosts confidence and makes a great first impression. However, time and a life well-lived can take a toll on your smile. The good news is many treatment options can brighten your teeth.

In this blog, Ginger Rome, DDS, at The Dentists at North Cypress in Houston, Texas, shares her insights on how to turn up the volume on your smile.

Why teeth lose their brightness and luster

Let’s start by discussing why teeth become dull and discolored. Most teeth dullness and discoloration results from extrinsic staining – the constant bombardment of beverages like wine, coffee, and tea and starchy foods, berries, and food containing tomatoes.

While the outer layer of teeth, called enamel, is super strong and protects the inner layers of our teeth, over time, natural wear and tear and biting and chewing take a toll on your teeth’s pearly-white appearance. Teeth whitening treatments can tackle and restore the brightness of your teeth.

Over-the-counter versus professional whitening

Not surprisingly, teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures. Once you decide to whiten your teeth, you quickly discover many options to wade through.

The options typically include personal preferences on who performs the whitening service and where it happens.

DIY at-home whitening

If you prefer teeth whitening at home, there are seemingly endless over-the-counter (OTC) whitening products, including toothpaste, gels, whitening strips, mouthwashes, and whitening kits. Consider other whitening options if your teeth are heavily stained and you’re not great at carefully following directions.

In-office whitening

In-office whitening, also called chair-side professional whitening options, is best for patients who want to brighten their smile but prefer to sit back, relax, and let the dental provider do all the work.

Remember that even though the principle behind teeth whitening is the same whether you pursue the DIY option or professional teeth whitening services, the potency of the products used is not. Most OTC whitening products contain carbamide or hydrogen peroxide in much lower concentrations than professional whitening options.

Hybrid custom at-home whitening kits

If you like taking control of the whitening process but want to eliminate some guesswork, there’s a third category of whitening treatments. Custom whitening kits typically fall into this category.

In this scenario, your dental provider makes an impression of your mouth and sends that to a dental laboratory, creating your custom whitening trays. When your trays return from the lab, your provider assembles a whitening kit with whitening solutions and specific directions for you to perform the service at home.

Two great options to turn up the volume

At The Dentists at North Cypress, we offer our patients two game-changing whitening system options – the KöR® Whitening System and Opalescence™ teeth whitening.

KöR® Whitening system

KöR Whitening achieves optimum whitening outcomes by eliminating the issue of whitening agents losing their effectiveness from the time they leave the warehouse to the time they reach the dentist’s office. They are the first company to launch a door-to-refrigeration practice for whitening agents.

KöR Whitening is a custom whitening tray process in-office and an at-home whitening kit for touch-ups. At the in-office option, your dentist starts the treatment by covering your gums and tongue with a protective sheet.

Next, your dentist applies the KöR Whitening gel to the surfaces of your teeth. The enamel immediately absorbs the proprietary gel since its ingredients boost your enamel’s ability to absorb more oxygen, which translates into more stain-fighting power. Your dentist repeats the process until you reach your whitening goals and sends you home with your at-home whitening kit and instructions.

Opalescence™ teeth whitening

The Opalescence™ teeth whitening system includes proprietary, specially formulated whitening agents available in varied concentrations, flavors, and delivery options. This particularly nimble menu of variations enables patients to whiten their teeth in the manner that best suits them.

If your teeth have lost their luster and you want to learn if teeth whitening is right for you, contact The Dentists at North Cypress for a whitening consultation. Call us or schedule an appointment online today to capture your best smile ever.