In February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, a holiday dedicated showing love. This year, show a little love to your smile. At Prosper Family Dentistry, we are offering a month-long promotion of two different types of professional teeth whitening. We will cover the first this week and focus next week’s blog on the other.
What is Professional Take-Home Teeth Whitening?
Professional take-home teeth whitening is a method of whitening that uses custom-made carrier trays with prescription strength whitening gel. The patient performs the actual whitening procedure at home, which is why we call it “take-home”.
There are two essential components in the take-home whitening process. First, you must have a properly fitting custom-made whitening carrier tray. Your dentist makes the tray on a perfect replica of your teeth from a flexible plastic material. The material fits snugly and comfortably. The fit of the tray is important to your overall whitening success because it holds the whitening gel in contact with your teeth.
The second component that ensures successful whitening is prescription strength whitening gel. With the high-powered gel, available only from your dentist, you can achieve noticeable results within a few days. Our professional gel also contains ingredients to fight teeth sensitivity and strengthen the teeth.
How is Professional Take-Home Teeth Whitening Different from Over-the-Counter Whitening Products?
Most over-the-counter products do use an effective active ingredient, but it is typically a lower strength than that of professional gel (just like over-the-counter medications are not as strong as prescription drugs). OTC products can produce noticeable whitening results, and they may just take a little longer.
Because over-the-counter whiteners must be some form of one-size-fits-all, their application method of holding the whitening ingredient in contact with teeth is less effective that custom-fitted trays. Patients often complain about the difficulty in using sticky strips or messy, oversized trays.
What are the Advantages of Take-Home Whitening?
With take-home whitening, YOU are in control. You can whiten as often or as little as you prefer. You can adjust your whitening times according to your own schedule. Patients with sensitive teeth may whiten for shorter lengths of time every other day, while those desiring the fastest results may use a high strength gel every day.
We are proud to offer the highest quality professional whitening gel available in dentistry today: Opalescence by Ultradent. What we love about Opalescence is its versatility and safety. It comes in varying strengths to meet a wide variety of needs. It contains important ingredients to protect the teeth and keep them healthy throughout the whitening process.
One important advantage of the professional take-home teeth whitening is the longevity of the custom trays. We make your trays from a high-quality plastic material that will last for many years. This allows you to purchase only inexpensive refills of the whitening gel to continue maintaining your beautiful white smile.
How Can I Get Started?
To take advantage of our February LOVE Your Smile promotion and receive $50 off your take-home whitening (normally $250), call 972-347-1145 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jill, Dr. Cara or Dr. Summer during the month of February. Professional take-home whitening requires two dental visits: the first to make the replica of your teeth, and the second to fit your trays and deliver the gel with instructions for use. Both are quick and easy!
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