Over time our teeth tend to become discolored or stained. Whether this is from smoking, coffee, or any other foods, a beautiful smile could be closer than you think. Sarasota dentist, Dr. Hank Michael, offers a safe, inexpensive solution to an unsightly smile. Whitening your teeth is a very simple procedure that can be completed in relatively short period of time.

Procedure

The first step in the teeth whitening process is to make a stone model of your teeth. This is done by taking impressions of your upper and lower teeth and then then Dr. Michael pours dental stone into the impressions

in his dental lab. After the models have hardened and been trimmed, a thermoplastic whitening tray is fitted to the model and trimmed to fit in your mouth perfectly. This impression taking visit usually takes about 20 minutes. After this visit, you will be scheduled one week later for delivery of whitening trays.

The second step is to try the whitening trays in to verify they fit correctly. This is done here at the dental office. Once the fit is verified, the doctor or the dental assistant will go ahead and show you how to load the trays with whitening gel. The loaded trays will be placed in the mouth and any excess whitening gel will be removed. This loaded whitening tray is to be left on the teeth for 30 minutes, so patients usually head home right after the trays are placed in the mouth. Some patients do not start the whitening process in the office; they take their trays home and start the first application at their discretion.

Directions:
Brush teeth, place gel in tray as instructed, leave on teeth for 30 minutes, remove trays, brush teeth, and brush and rinse trays. Tooth sensitivity is one side effect of teeth whitening and may be relieved by reducing the time the whitening gel is left on the tooth and also by placing a sensitive tooth paste such

as Sensodyne in the whitening trays and placing on teeth for 30 minutes following the teeth whitening session. Whitening treatment should only be done once per day. Any more than once a day can cause blistering of the gum tissue which can be very uncomfortable. If you accidentally leave your trays in for too long, don’t worry, just stop whitening treatments for three days before resuming your whitening treatment. The gum tissue repairs itself quickly. Treatment should continue for 7-10 days and one tube of whitening gel should last through all of these treatments. Refills of whitening gel can be purchased here at the office.

Whitening Check:
This visit is scheduled 2 weeks after you start teeth whitening. At this visit, we measure how many shades whiter your teeth are. Most patients are very happy with the results of teeth whitening, however, some patients do not feel their teeth are white enough. Some patients get whiter teeth than others due to deeper staining in the teeth. In these cases, patients have the option of whitening with porcelain veneers to cover the deep stains in their teeth.

Maintenance:
Following the initial treatment, patients are encouraged to re-whiten after routine dental cleanings. 3-5 days worth of whitening treatments following your dental cleanings will ensure that bright white smile you love.

Whitening only works on natural teeth(porcelain teeth do not whiten) and may not be effective in all cases. We will inform you as to the potential whitening for your specific situation.