If you are wondering whether to have a dental whitening done at a dental office or at home, you must think about how these options differ from each other. Although at-home teeth whitening tends to cost less than professional teeth cleaning, the latter can achieve results that the former cannot. Also, in-office whitening is safer than teeth whitening kits you can purchase over-the-counter. Keep reading to know why you should get your teeth whitened at a dental practice in Powell, TN.
You Can Get Results in as Little as an Hour
Both at-home and in-office dental whitening solutions include hydrogen peroxide as the bleaching agent. While at-home solutions contain 3%-20% peroxide, in-office solutions contain 15%-43% peroxide. The bleaching agent with a higher peroxide content can more effectively and quickly whiten your teeth.
Apart from a high peroxide content, dental professionals make use of heat or light for accelerating the whitening process and intensifying the whitening results. Typically, at-home solutions take weeks or months to produce noticeable results. A dentist can help you achieve a brighter smile within only an hour.
You Wear a Brighter Smile that Lasts Long
When you get an in-office teeth whitening, the procedure is supervised by a dentist before and after the treatment, ensuring you get positive results that at-home methods cannot provide. At the dentist’s office, the dentist will check up on your teeth to ensure you are a great candidate for dental whitening. Any visible restorations on your teeth will not get bleached. As a result, they could look discolored or stained. Your dentist can examine your teeth and determine whether you can benefit from bleaching. This way, you can avoid undesirable results.
Additionally, your dentist will clean the teeth and get rid of any plaque or tartar before they apply the bleaching agent. During your treatment, they will monitor the dental whitening procedure to ensure nothing goes wrong and you won’t feel any discomfort.
You Can Avoid Tooth Sensitivity and Damage
After teeth whitening, a lot of patients report gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. Leaving the whitening agent on your teeth for a long time can dehydrate your teeth and cause sensitivity. Also, the peroxide agent can irritate the gums and cause pain when you eat some foods. With at-home whitening solutions, you may fail to use them properly, resulting in pain and sensitivity. Meanwhile, your dentist knows the whitening process well, ensuring you experience little to no discomfort from it.
