Teeth Whitening

REJUVENATE YOUR SMILE!

Is it time to revive a dull or unsatisfactory smile? From too many coffee dates and wine nights, to aging and consuming staining foods, your smile is exposed to elements of teeth staining multiple times a day, every day. If you have a special event to get ready for or desire a more youthful and beautiful smile, consider teeth whitening by giving us a call and scheduling a consultation. Our office welcomes patients from Lakewood, Los Alamitos, and the surrounding areas.

UNDERSTANDING THE POPULARITY OF TEETH WHITENING

Teeth whitening is one of the most common cosmetic dentistry treatments because it is completely non-invasive, efficient, and the results are beautiful. This cosmetic option is ideal for patients who don’t like the idea of cosmetic dental surgery but want to restore their smile aesthetically.

Teeth whitening is also popular because you can choose to get treatment in our office from Dr. William, or you can use a custom-made take-home whitening kit to get professional-grade results at home. Whether you would prefer immediate results or a more gradual, gentle treatment, our team is here to help.

THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF TEETH WHITENING

• Higher self-esteem – The best benefit of teeth whitening is that it improves your self-esteem. You won’t feel embarrassed about smiling, eating or laughing in public, and you’ll love how your teeth look once you’ve removed stains and yellowing.
• You’ll look younger – Our teeth go through a lot as we age, and this means they naturally become yellowed and somewhat stained over time. Teeth whitening can reverse the aging process and take years off of your appearance.
• You’ll take better care of your smile – After patients invest in their smile with teeth whitening, they will typically pay more attention to their oral care and hygiene. This means your newly-whitened teeth will stay bright and beautiful, and your oral health will also improve.

PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING IS SAFER THAN USING OVER-THE-COUNTER STRIPS

You may be considering using an over-the-counter (OTC) whitening product like Crest Whitestrips. While there are some OTC products that have been certified as safe by the American Dental Association, it’s always better to turn to a professional.

This is because a dentist like Dr. William can monitor the strength and intensity of whitening products used to refresh your smile, and ensure that you do not over-whiten your teeth. If you over-whiten your teeth, you can weaken the enamel, cause tooth sensitivity, and the enamel of your teeth may even start to erode over time.

BENEFITS OF COSMETIC DENTISTRY

Your smile is one of the first things others will notice about you and is the first impression about your health and personality. often leads your first impression about your health and personality. If you have stained teeth, a chipped tooth or gaps between teeth in your smile, cosmetic dentistry can renew and restore your smile to its optimal appearance. Feel like yourself again in a smile that suits you. Using cosmetic dental services such as teeth whitening, veneers, porcelain crowns or dental bonding and contouring, your brand new smile may be just a dental visit away.

BETTER THAN DRUGSTORE WHITENING

Patients who have experienced professional teeth whitening at the dentist understand the unparalleled difference between a whitened smile at the dentist and drugstore whitening products. While drugstore teeth whitening can be used to remove stains, professional teeth whitening is specially designed to offer more dramatic and reliable teeth whitening results and is specially crafted to reduce or prevent tooth sensitivity during the process. If you are tired of waiting on drugstore whitening products to work, it may be time to seek your local dentist for professional whitening with cosmetic dentistry in Los Alamitos.

WHITEN TEETH IN MINUTES WITH ZOOM!

At Restore Health Dentistry, we offer professional teeth whitening with Zoom!, a proven teeth whitening system preferred by patients from around the country. Whiten your teeth easily in our office with professional results in just one visit! Our custom teeth whitening trays contain a special Zoom! teeth whitening gel with agents such as potassium nitrate and fluoride that help maintain a healthy enamel and prevent tooth sensitivity throughout the process.

CONVENIENT TEETH WHITENING AT HOME

Want to whiten your teeth at home? With our custom Opalescence teeth whitening trays, patients easily whiten their teeth at their own convenience. During your teeth whitening process, you will wear a custom-made trays for about 30 to 60 minutes at a time for a predetermined number of days. Our office also offers the ability to receive professional teeth whitening touch-ups in our office to keep your smile looking its best even months after whitening.

WHY DO MY TEETH TURN YELLOW IN THE FIRST PLACE?

There are many different possible causes of yellowing teeth, ranging from enamel erosion, aging, diet, tobacco products, and medical reasons. There are two types of tooth staining - these are extrinsic (stains that affect the outside tooth enamel) and intrinsic (stains from the inside).
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Lifestyle habits like consuming too many staining foods and drinks or smoking cause extrinsic stains while stains that come from the inside of the tooth are caused by thinning enamel, too much fluoride, or too much dentin (the inside soft yellow center of the tooth) in our tooth being exposed.
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Many foods and drinks contain compounds called tannins that cause surface stains on the teeth, such as coffee, tea, wine, soda, and juices. Smoking and the use of all tobacco products also cause surface stains. 
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Certain medical conditions and medications may cause yellow teeth but this is not as common. As we age and our teeth go through the normal wear and tear of chewing and talking, our enamel becomes thinner and exposes more of the yellow layer of our teeth, causing our teeth to appear more yellow. However, this yellow appearance can be improved with teeth whitening which brightens both external and internal staining.

THE TEETH WHITENING PROCESS

Before deciding if you’re a good candidate for teeth whitening, you’ll need to come in for a consultation. Dr. Nancy William will perform an oral exam and take x-rays of your teeth to rule out the possibility of tooth decay or gum disease. 
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During this consultation, you can discuss your goals and Dr. William can make a recommendation on which treatment would be best for you. Teeth whitening is most effective on clean teeth so we recommend getting a dental cleaning first.
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In-Office Whitening: We will use cheek protractors and protective gels to shield the soft tissue in your mouth from the whitening agent. Then, we will apply the peroxide to the teeth and activate it with a UV light for activation. This process is repeated a few times and takes about one hour.
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Take-Home Whitening: We will take impressions of your teeth and send them to a dental lab that will create custom-made whitening trays for you to wear over your teeth. You will also be given written instructions and whitening syringes. 
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You will apply the whitening agent from the syringe to the inside of your trays and place them over your teeth. Keep these trays on for the specified amount of time as per the instructions. You will wear these trays each day for about 2 weeks.

AFTERCARE

The most common side effect of professional teeth whitening is tooth sensitivity. We take precautions at Restore Health Dentistry by using whitening agents that contain potassium nitrate and fluoride which strengthen the tooth enamel and reduce sensitivity. 
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However, if you still experience this side effect, we recommend using a desensitizing gel, a toothpaste for sensitive teeth, and reducing your exposure to very hot and cold foods. Do not keep your take-home whitening trays on for too long or wear them too often. Follow the directions and you should not experience any significant discomfort.