What’s all the Hype about Teeth Whitening?
Here at McGlone Dental Care, we have patients asking to have teeth whitening done every week. Everyone seems to want a whiter, brighter smile these days, but worry that teeth whitening may damage their teeth. While using, whitening toothpaste can erode your enamel and cause your gums to recede, having professional teeth whitening treatments is less abrasive than whitening toothpastes, and doesn’t cause as much damage to your teeth or enamel.
Our teeth whitening is not done in the office. We don’t have a “Zoom” machine. If you want to whiten your teeth, it’s not a quick fix. You can, however, whiten your teeth in the privacy of your own home. Our teeth whitening process (only 2 very short visits) will only cost you $200 total. We realize that may be quite a bit lower than other dentists in the area. We keep our prices low because we want our patients to feel like they are being taken care of. If they feel well taken care of, they will come back for other, more intensive services in the future. Most insurance does not cover any teeth whitening service, trays, in office whitening, or a ZOOM treatment. If you schedule an appointment for teeth whitening to be done here or any place, make sure you can personally pay the charge out of pocket.
At McGlone Dental Care, your teeth whitening treatment is completely customized to your teeth/mouth. You’re may be wondering…how is that possible? Here are the steps that we take to make sure that you have the best teeth whitening experience. First, we have you come in for us to make a mold of your upper and lower teeth. This is step 1. Once the molds (you’ll get two molds, one for the upper teeth & a second one for your lower teeth) are hardened, we then pour a clear solution on both molds and wait for the clear solution to harden up on the molds. Then we pull the trays off each mold and trim them up. Once they are trimmed and ready for you to use, we will call you to let you know they are done, it’s time for you to pick them up.
You will then come in to pick-up your trays and two tubes of whitening gel with directions on how to use them together. Each tube we give you should last for about three whitening treatments. I’m sure you’ve heard the statement, “a little goes a long way”. It’s true in this case! You only need to put one small dab of the solution onto each tooth area of your trays. In fact, you should only whiten the teeth that are visible when you smile or talk. Why whiten the teeth in the very back of your mouth that no-one can see? If you whiten this way, your whitening gel will last a little bit longer. You may be able to get four treatments out of one tube.
This treatment is done at home, most of the time, while you are sleeping or during a “quiet” time. Quiet time is any time where you won’t be talking, eating, or doing anything else with your mouth than maybe meditating, napping, listening to music with headphones, or anything else you can do with your mouth closed. You can sleep in the trays, if it doesn’t bother you. After use, clean both trays with warm water. Let dry, and store the trays in the container they came in, with the trays on top of the molds. Keep in a drawer or handy place so you can locate them when it’s time to repeat. Make sure you store the gel in a dark, cool place. The refrigerator is a great place to store your gel. The fridge or anywhere cool and dark will work for storing your solution.
So really, what is all the hype about?! I believe that now-a-days, everyone wants to have a great smile. They want it to shine bright! Here are a few theories of what I think may be going on. The baby boomers are getting older, living longer and want to look more youthful. The 40+ set is doing all they can to NOT age (me included). The millennial generation is trying to prevent this thing called “aging” and are doing this and other things to set back the clock now for when they are older. They want to look 25 forever! I hate to burst their bubble!
Whatever you’re your theory is on teeth whitening, we are happy to help you slow down the aging process, prevent the look of aging now and into the future, or just make you feel more confident, and good about yourself, no matter your age.
For more information or to schedule an appointment to get your very own custom made trays, give us a call – 303-759-0731.