Most questions about teeth whitening often revolve around its aesthetic and medical benefits, the different treatment systems available, the right application of this treatment and its effectiveness, and the total cost of having one’s teeth whitened professionally. The average consumer expects these enquiries answered with specific, evidence-based and updated information by dental health experts. However, dentistry-related articles were often peppered with technical terms and complicated procedures. In response, this overview provides simply worded answers to the four question categories mentioned at the beginning.
Is there any medical benefit from teeth whitening treatments?
In reality, a dental whitening treatment only fixes the problem on the surface. To be specific, it removes teeth stains caused by caffeine, nicotine or tetracycline. It doesn’t make a painful toothache go away. Moreover, this treatment won’t bring back your lost or badly damaged teeth. That’s what veneers and dental implants are for. Finally, when whitening one’s teeth, cement or silver fillings aren’t needed to plug up the holes and cracks caused by bacterial decay.
So far, nothing in a tooth whitening procedure points at a possible medical benefit for the client. Perhaps, the only benefit this sought-after dental treatment brings is to make a person’s smile aesthetically pleasing. Seemingly, the only real benefit of whitened teeth is the capability to display a quick and easy smile to friends and strangers. This simple gesture radiates a friendly appearance and a happy disposition. Without this smile, marketers lose out on business deals and customer services reps end up making a bad impression on their clientele.
What are the current teeth whitening treatment systems in the market?
As of now, the professional whitening treatments are mostly out-of-the-box systems that dentists can easily implement. These packages already contain the needed materials and dental equipment as well as the end-user training for operating the machine and following the procedure. You’ll understand this better when you seek definitive teeth whitening information from websites of cosmetic dentistry specialists from around the world. Based on expert data, hundreds of clients have already undergone one or two of the three most effective treatments. These three, namely Zoom Teeth Whitening, SmartLight 3LT Laser, and SmartBleach KTP Laser, have consistently made clients happy with their results.
Unsurprisingly, all three systems use either laser or UV light to activate the peroxide in the whitening gel and accelerate the bleaching process. A dental treatment that employs any of these systems definitely assures clients there will be visible changes. For example, a yellowish tinge turned three shades lighter than a brownish stain. Also, the smoothness or roughness of your teeth is affected because the bleaching gel tends to etch the enamel’s surface.
Which of the three whitening systems deliver the best results?
All three teeth whitening systems consist of a light-activated gel and a light source that produces heat, but at a level that won’t burn the patient’s gums and mouth. Both SmartLight and SmartBleach use red alkaline gel with Rhodium B as active ingredient. These two treatments employ green laser to heat up the red gel, break down the peroxide, and turn it into an alkaline-based bleaching agent. Because it’s alkaline, the gel contains no acid, which causes blisters to form on skin.
In comparison, Zoom Whitening uses whitening gel with hydrogen peroxide, which a powerful ultraviolet light heats up. The peroxide breaks down, leaving behind the oxygen, which penetrates the enamel and dentin. The presence of pure oxygen inside the tooth turns all colors into white. Thus, the tooth remains untouched and unharmed.
How much does a teeth whitening treatment cost?
Dentists who perform the procedure normally rack up their fees to account for their investments in the newest technology and the amount of time and energy they spent in training. These systems allow only licensed professionals to perform the procedure. Knowing these, we now see why each treatment costs a thousand dollars (more or less). Specifically, the costs range from around $800 dollars up to $1,500 dollar or more.
The previous rates were too expensive and made teeth whitening a luxury service rather than a practical option. Therefore, many dental clinics began offering value-added packages, which provide only the basic services of the treatment at a lower cost. For example, a full treatment may include not only teeth whitening, but also cleaning and fluoride application. Meanwhile, a low-priced treatment only offers the tooth whitening procedure. This pricing change made the teeth whitening treatment accessible to the rest of the population.
