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Why Should a Dentist Whiten my Teeth?

Tooth Whitening in Bernardsville, Morristown and surrounding areas in New Jersey

With so many tooth whitening options available today, you may begin to feel that any option is the same as the next, but that really is not the case. When choosing how to have your teeth whitened, you should consider your lifestyle, your desired outcome, and the cost of various options, and you may be surprised at the results.

Why You Should Whiten Your Teeth

The truth is that the whiteness of your teeth is no indication of your dental health. Some people with very white teeth have multiple dental caries or even gum disease, while other individuals with severely stained teeth may have no other oral health problems.

So why is tooth whitening important? Your appearance can be dramatically altered just by the color of your teeth. Individuals with stained, yellow teeth are perceived as being both older than they are and unhealthy. A white, straight smile is often perceived as an indication of youthful health. For these reasons many people choose to whiten their teeth immediately before an important event, like a wedding or important business trip, sometimes waiting until the last possible moment to do so. But only in-office professional tooth whitening can be completed in an hour. All other tooth whitening treatments require one to four weeks of application.

Your Teeth Whitening Options

You have three options for teeth whitening:

  • Over-the-counter whitening kits
  • Dentist-prescribed take home whitening kits
  • In-office professional tooth whitening

Although the first two options may seem similar, the results are often quite different. Over-the-counter whitening kits require one to four weeks of application and whiten teeth an average of three to four shades. That’s up to 14 hours of whitening treatment. Dentist-prescribed take home kits take one to two weeks of application, or about 7 hours of treatment, and whiten an average of six shades. Only in-office tooth whitening is completed in one hour and whitens teeth an average of eight or more shades whiter than when you first sit down in the chair.

Additionally, in-office professional tooth whitening lasts an average of six to 12 months without needing to be repeated. You may, however, have a second whitening treatment if you want your teeth even whiter.

Professional tooth whitening may be the right option for you if:

  • You are happy with the shape and health of your teeth, but not the color
  • You have an important event coming up
  • You would like to improve others’ perception of you

Professional tooth whitening can reduce the appearance of most dental stains, but no tooth whitening treatment can whiten teeth that have been chemically stained or are genetically discolored. If you suffer from either of these conditions, you may choose to consider dental bonding to make your teeth appear whiter.

For more information, please see Tooth Whitening Questions.

If you are in New Jersey and would like to learn more about your options when it comes to tooth whitening, please contact our cosmetic dentistry office today, serving Bernardsville, Morristown, and the surrounding areas of New Jersey.

Aesthetic Dentistry Of Bernardsville - Cosmetic Dentists New Jersey

10 Anderson Rd
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
(800) 672-8518 | Contact Us