What's the Secret for Truly White Teeth?

    OAKTON, VA, March 12, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Everyone wants a white, bright smile to help make that great first impression. But not everyone has been blessed with a naturally white smile. What are the best options when you're looking for a way to revitalize your appearance with brighter teeth?

Over-the-Counter Options

A variety of tooth whitening options are available now in your local grocery store or drug store. Whitening toothpastes, paint-on whiteners, whitening strips, and kits with whitening gel and plastic trays for your teeth--all these can be purchased in your grocery's dental care aisle. But do they really work?

The answer is...sort of. While all these products do provide some whitening for your teeth, they won't provide the dramatic results you can get from a professional tooth whitening procedure performed by a cosmetic dentist.

Why don't the over-the-counter options work as well? Like most over-the-counter products, they simply aren't as strong as those that can be dispensed by a doctor or dentist. A cosmetic dentist can treat your teeth with powerful whitening agents that can brighten your smile dramatically in a little more than an hour.

Options From Your Dentist

As with available over-the-counter options, there is a variety of tooth whitening products available from your cosmetic dentist. The product that will work best for you is determined by the amount of discoloration and staining in your teeth, and the goals you wish to achieve through whitening. Consultation with your dentist will help him make the best recommendation to meet your individual needs.

In-office whitening treatments fit into three basic categories:

• The whitening agent is applied in the office
• The whitening agent is applied at home, following the doctor's instructions
• A combination of the two

When the whitening agent is applied in the office, your lips and gums are protected with special dental dams and paint-on protective agents. A powerful whitening solution, usually hydrogen peroxide based, is then applied to the surfaces of your teeth. The solution is left in place for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, usually in three or four sessions that add up to an hour of total exposure to the whitening agent.

A take-home whitening kit can sometimes be more effective on certain kinds or severities of staining. Your doctor will give you plastic trays that fit over your teeth and a supply of whitening solution, as well as instructions on how to use them. In general, the whitening solution is placed in the tray, then you place the tray over your teeth and leave it there for a specified period of time. Done daily, this technique can lead to dramatic, long-lasting results.

Sometimes, a dentist will administer an in-office whitening treatment, then recommend that it be followed up with an at-home treatment for a specific amount of time. This combination approach can help counter stubborn stains for a long-lasting, bright smile.

One popular, innovative in-office tooth whitening technique is the Zoom! whitening system. The Zoom! system utilizes a special, powerful whitening agent. Much as with other whitening agents, the lips and gums are protected, then the whitening agent is painted onto the teeth. With the Zoom! technique, though, a special light is used on the teeth to activate the whitening agent. Exposure to the light lasts about fifteen minutes, then the whitening agent is removed and replaced with a fresh coat.

After about four sessions, for a total of an hour, your teeth will have lightened as much as six shades from their original color. Zoom! is a fast-acting and powerful tooth whitener, recommended by many cosmetic dentists for its dramatic results.

Among experienced cosmetic dentists using the Zoom! whitening system is Dr. Michael Chung, DDS. At Softouch Dental Care, in Northern Virginia, Dr. Chung will consult with you about the right whitening approach for your teeth.

Source: Dr. Michael Chung, DDS
Website: http://softouchdentalcare.com

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