Salinas Tooth Whitening

Dr. Christopher H Jen Kin is a dentist and has answered some of the common questions Bizymoms visitors have about Tooth Whitening.

 
Q. What is tooth whitening?

A. Tooth whitening is a process in which a whitening gel (usually consisting of hydrogen or carbamide peroxide) is placed on the teeth.  This gel moves through microscopic pores in your enamel (the white outer shell of your teeth), and bleaches the layers underneath these pores. 
 
Q. Who may benefit from teeth whitening?

A. Whitening works great for those who have staining from coffee, tea, wine, or cigarettes.  The whitening gel rather effectively bleaches these stains and can have a dramatic effect in brightness of your smile.
 
Q. Who are not recommended to undergo teeth whitening?

A. Some patients have staining because they had taken an antibiotic called Tetracycline as a child.  These patients often exhibit large contrasting grey and brown bands across their teeth.  These patients are not good candidates for whitening, as studies have shown that the process is very ineffective at changing the appearance of teeth with Tetracycline stains.
 
If you have very sensitive teeth to begin with, the whitening procedure can sometimes make these patient's teeth temporarily more sensitive.
 
Although there are no studies linking use of peroxide materials with potential damage to the fetus, pregnant patients are also recommended to wait until after their delivery to whiten their teeth. 
 
Q. What does tooth whitening involve?

A. This depends on the process.  We offer Zoom Whitening, which is an in office procedure. We place a protective layer over the patient’s gums so they don’t get any sensitivity from the gel.  We then place a whitening gel on the teeth and use a focused light aimed at the teeth, to accelerate the whitening process.
 
The other more traditional method is the use of whitening trays.  We will take a mold of your mouth, and create custom fit trays that you use to apply the whitening gel directly to your teeth. 
 
Each method has it’s pros and cons.  With Zoom whitening, you can get quick results, but sometimes being more inconsistent from patient to patient.  Every patient’s enamel layers and amount of staining varies, but the zoom procedure has the same protocol each and every time.  With bleaching trays, a patient can control how many times they want to whiten their teeth.  If they have achieved a level of brightness they like, they can stop, and if they have not, they can choose themselves how long to continue whitening.
 
Q. How long does this take?

A. Zoom whitening takes about an hour, and your teeth will be whiter after three 15 minute cycles using a light to accelerate the whitening process.
 
With the whitening trays, depending on the type and strength of the gel, this can be done minutes to hours per day, over a period of a few days or even weeks.
 
Q. How much does tooth whitening cost?

A. This depends on a lot of factors, and will vary depending on: what type of bleaching procedure, what type of bleach, trays or ZOOM?  Your best bet is to see your dentist and ask which type of whitening procedure would be most effective for you and what the fee would be.
 
Q. What are the side effects?

A. Side effects can include mild sensitivity in your teeth immediately after the whitening procedure.  This is caused by the gel slightly widening the microscopic pores it uses, as entry to whiten the layers underneath.  This sensitivity usually quickly resolves after a few hours or sometimes days as these pores close up again with a person’s daily routine (eating, drinking, brushing their teeth).