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Posts for tag: teeth whitening

By Taylor Drive Dental Care
March 01, 2012
Category: Dental Procedures
EnhanceYourSmileThroughTeethWhitening

In modern society, a bright, white smile conveys optimal health, youth and sound teeth. However, various influences including age, wear, diet, and lifestyle may prevent you from having and maintaining the glistening smile you long to share with the world. Luckily, there are many safe, inexpensive, and successful treatment options for discolored or stained teeth.

We can perform a “power bleaching” in our office to whiten teeth that are severely stained or discolored. This procedure whitens the external surfaces of the teeth by using a high concentration (35-45%) hydrogen peroxide solution, which is sometimes activated by a specialized light. To prevent irritation of the mouth's soft tissue lining during this procedure, we will isolate your gums and membranes with a rubber dam, a silicone or other effective barrier. Professionally applied in-office power bleaching provides control, speed, and predictability capable of lightening teeth up to ten shades in an hour. Don't try this at home! Our staff will take precautions in the office to avoid side effects and possible tooth sensitivity.

We can also provide you with custom-made, vacuum-formed, plastic bleaching trays for use with a take-home whitening application. In this instance, a gel made from carbamide peroxide (4-7% hydrogen peroxide, safe for home use) is delivered to the tooth surfaces in the bleaching trays. You will need to wear the tray for 30 minutes twice a day, which is a longer process than in-office bleaching. The first subjective signs of whitening will occur after three or four sessions, allowing whitening of up to eight shade units.

Another home-based option, whitening strips, essentially look like band-aids for the teeth. They are capable of lightening teeth by about three shades after being worn directly on the surface of the teeth for 30 minutes twice a day for one week.

If you have always wanted whiter teeth, schedule an appointment so we can determine which of these treatment options would work best for you. For more information on the fundamentals of teeth whitening, read the informative Dear Doctor magazine article “Teeth Whitening: Brighter, Lighter, Whiter...”

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By Taylor Drive Dental Care
November 06, 2011
Category: Dental Procedures

If you are pleased with your smile except for that one front tooth that appears darker, then we have good news for you. Often a tooth appears darker as a result of trauma that may have occurred years ago. Your tooth may need root canal treatment or may have already had root canal treatment in the past. Regardless, you can whiten this tooth via a process called internal bleaching. And as the name suggests, the tooth can be bleached from the inside out. Here's a brief summary of how this entire process works:

  1. Performing an x-ray exam: The first step is to take a radiograph (x-ray) to make sure that your root canal filling is intact adequately sealing the root canal and the surrounding bone is healthy.
  2. Making an access hole: To apply the bleaching agent, a small hole will need to be made in the back of your tooth to apply the bleach. However, before doing that, the area must be thoroughly cleaned and irrigated.
  3. Sealing above the root canal filling: This step is critical to prevent the bleach from leaking into the root canal space.
  4. Applying the bleach: To obtain the whitening needed, it typically requires between one and four office visits for additional bleaching.
  5. Applying a permanent restoration: Once your tooth has lightened to the desired color, a permanent filling will be placed over the small hole to seal your tooth's dentin. This is then covered with tooth-colored composite resin (filling material) so that the access hole is undetectable to the naked eye.

To learn more about this procedure and see amazing before and after images, continue reading the Dear Doctor article, “Whitening Traumatized Teeth.” Or, you can contact us to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment.

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