Through the end of the year we are running a special on ZOOM! Whitening. One of the most common concerns patients bring up in their check-ups is the shade of their teeth and whitening them. While we are accustomed to the "white" we see everyday in actors, news anchors and others on TV, most of their teeth are veneers and not an attainable white in natural tooth structure. Although that level of white is not possible, we do see a vast improvement in shade in one visit with the Zoom! system.
If you choose to do the Zoom treatment, we have our patients begin a Fluoridex toothpaste in order to "toughen" up the teeth as much as possible. One of the most common symptoms of whitening is sensitivity and we like to prepare the teeth with this regimen. The extra fluoride integrates into the enamel making it a stronger, more resilient structure. Next, we will make whitening trays so that after your Zoom treatment you can touch up whiten with bleaching trays at home. We take note of your initial tooth shade so we know your baseline and can compare that to your final results.
For the treatment process, we will place a barrier on your gums so that the bleach does not whiten or damage your gum tissue. We place a special dental dam on your lips to protect them as well. If bleach does get on your gums or cheeks, the white area will disappear within a week. Once your soft tissue is isolated, we place the gel on your teeth and activate it with the Philips Zoom! light. We can process the gel up to four, 15 minute sessions. Most patients find that three sessions is all that they are able to do, mostly because they begin to feel sensitivity or we have achieved the level of white a patient desires. After cleaning and rinsing the gel off of the teeth, we then get our final shade result. Typically we see an improvement of two shades. This can vary depending on where you begin.
After whitening you may notice your teeth are extra sensitive to temperature changes (hot or cold). We recommend continuing the Fluoridex toothpaste as well as sensitivity toothpaste as needed. The results can last a varying amount of time depending on your habits at home. If you smoke, drink red wine, coffee or eat red sauces frequently, your whitening may not last as long. Our teeth can soak up those types of things just like it soaks up and responds to the bleach. We recommend touching up your treatment with the whitening trays as needed. Please reach out to us before the end of the year if you would like to take advantage of our special for 2021!