Teeth Whitening at Home or the Office

At our office, there are two principal ways to whiten your teeth. We can whiten your teeth at the office, which takes about an hour, and have you follow it up at home using your custom bleaching trays. Alternatively, you can choose at home teeth whitening using a home whitening kit with dental whitening trays. Both methods produce the same results. Initiating the process at our office, which is advised for first time users, speeds up the process (one office visit is about equal to four at home sessions) and allows us to identify any complications, such as sensitivity.

Dr. Andrew Ross will take impressions of your mouth to make custom-fitting, dental whitening trays that have a perfect fit and will allow for a uniform distribution of prescription bleaching solution around your teeth.  When used as directed for the specified period of time, excellent results are generally achieved that are long lasting.  There are also bleaching adjuncts that can be used, as needed, which will attenuate the sensitivity that can be caused by the bleaching process or to extend the results of the bleaching treatment. 

Custom dental whitening trays are carefully fabricated from impressions of your teeth. These trays are designed to allow for an optimum distribution of bleaching solution around your teeth to provide the best results and prevent the solution from irritating the gums while it works. These trays are also reusable for when you decide to do the bleaching process again.

Prescription strength teeth whitening solutions are used with your custom trays. These solutions are efficient, effective, safe, and have mediators in the solution to minimize or eliminate sensitivity. Additionally, adjuncts for the bleaching process can be used, which further decreases the chances of getting sensitivity and also tends to increase the length of time the teeth stay white after the bleaching process. Our prescription bleaching solutions generally require seven to ten consecutive days of use at home, about an hour a day, to get the results desired. However, this length of time varies from person to person.