What is Professional Teeth Whitening?

Most people have seen whitening strips at the store or other whitening products online. However, these are not professional teeth whitening products. Professional teeth whitening requires a dentist to provide the treatment due to the high bleach concentration. Unlike with over the counter products, professional teeth whitening has the supervision of a cosmetic dentist to ensure you achieve your desired results without harming your teeth. Professional teeth whitening can remove some of the toughest stains and provide patients with a glowing smile that lasts for months to come.

Causes of Discolored or Stained Teeth

Teeth don’t just become stained or discolored on their own. There are several reasons why your teeth might look stained or discolored. Here are some of the most common causes of stained teeth.

Foods and Drinks – Foods like dark chocolate or berries or drinks like tea, coffee, red wine, or soda can each cause staining.

Smoking – When you smoke or use tobacco products, your teeth become exposed to tar, nicotine, and chemicals that can stain your teeth as well as cause gum disease.

Genetics – Some people naturally have discolored teeth due to genetics for a dark enamel.

Tetracycline Usage – In the 60s and 70s, many doctors prescribed tetracycline – an antibiotic – that caused severe staining to teeth.

Who’s a Good Candidate for Tooth Whitening?

Take a look in the mirror. If you feel like your teeth could look whiter or you feel embarrassed about their color, you’re likely a good candidate for professional teeth whitening. We also highly recommend teeth whitening to patients who feel dissatisfied with other whitening products they’ve used or can’t achieve the results they want. In just one appointment, we can brighten your smile up to eight shades.

To qualify for professional whitening, we require patients to have good oral health. That means you don’t have gum disease, cavities, or any type of tooth infection. If you do have any oral health issues, we will take care of them before giving you a whitening treatment. We also don’t recommend teeth whitening to patients who have restorations in the front of their mouth including dental crowns, porcelain veneers, dental bonding, or dental bridges. This is because whitening products do not work on restorations. Unless your restorations are whiter than your teeth, they won’t match your surrounding teeth with a whitening treatment.

Zoom! Teeth Whitening Procedure

Zoom! is one of the best professional whitening procedures you can receive. When you visit our Miami Beach cosmetic dentists for your treatment, we will start by cleaning and polishing your teeth first to remove plaque and tartar. This will help us ensure your whitening treatment gets on every tiny inch of your tooth. To determine your exact procedure, you will choose your desired tooth color with a shade guide. Next, we will place a special cream on your lips to protect them from the whitening solution. Our team will then use a retractor to pull the lips away from your teeth and to expose the teeth. We will also put a protective solution on your gums and evenly apply the whitening gel to your teeth.

You will then sit in front of a special light to activate the whitening solution and expedite the whitening process. Depending on how white you want your teeth, we will reapply the whitening gel and have you sit in front of the light for several 15-minute sessions.

In as little as an hour, your teeth can look up to eight shades whiter! If you’re ever short on time or need your teeth white for a special occasion, you can count on Zoom! professional teeth whitening to get the job done.

Whiten Your Teeth in Miami Beach

If you would like to remove years of staining and achieve a whiter smile in just one appointment, please contact our cosmetic dentists at SoBe dentist to schedule an appointment. Give us a call at (305) 535-2225 to start your journey to a whiter smile today.