Teeth Whitening is an effective, and safe treatment for teeth that have darkened and yellowed due to the effects of aging and staining from consuming certain foods.   Supervised whitening has had a long history of working well in these cases, and the effects remain for a years and not a few weeks as some people may have heard.  There are situations where teeth whitening will not work at all, and there are many advertisements that claim that their system will whiten “caps and crowns”  be wary of this.  We also do not know if the advertised gels and strips are safe because there is very little research confirming their claims much less their safety.  The system we use in the office has been researched and here is a summary  of a study that was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association:

A study reported in the Journal of the American Dental Association in May of 2010  examined the relationship of tooth whitening gel and erosion and abrasion of enamel and dentin.  There has been some concern among patients and dentists regarding the effects of whitening gels on tooth structure, whether the use of the gels will damage your teeth.  The researchers looked at the effect of  Opalessence ( the material we use in our office.) on teeth and found no damage to the enamel or dentin if used as recommended.

Engle, Anderson and Hara et al, JADA  5-2010

Our patient Debbie was impressed with here results, and we couldn’t be happier, congratulations Debbie!

How Does Professional Whitening Work?

When you come in to whiten your teeth, it may be a mystery how does it work so well.  In this poster, it is explained:

https://www.ultradent.com/SiteAssets/Campaigns/2018/10-Oct/Opalescence-Go/landing-page/downloadables/Educational_How%20Whitening%20Works.pdf