Teeth Whitening

Whitening gel works with peroxide. The in-office gel and the take-home version differ in concentration and in how long each one sits against the tooth, which is what separates a single appointment from a couple of weeks. Because the tooth itself is untouched, whitening is the one cosmetic option here you can try before committing to bonding or veneers. Only the color changes.

Over-the-counter strips and pastes use a milder gel in a tray that was never shaped to your teeth. They can help with light surface stain. What they cannot do is adjust for your enamel, your sensitivity, or the kind of stain you have. An off-the-shelf tray also tends to leave the result patchy along the gum line.

Professional whitening starts with an exam instead. Dr. Shah looks at what is actually causing the discoloration, because surface stain from drinks is a different problem from a tooth that has darkened from the inside. Your gums get checked too, since gel sitting against inflamed tissue is uncomfortable for no benefit. Then we choose the strength and the approach, and we change either one if your teeth tell us to.

Results vary with your starting shade and the kind of staining you have. Most patients see several shades of improvement. We note your shade at the start, so the change is something you can see rather than something you have to take on faith.

An in-office visit runs in a single appointment. We check your teeth and gums, note your current shade, then isolate your gums and lips so the gel only touches enamel. The gel goes on for a set time, sometimes repeated within the same appointment. Then we rinse, look at the shade with you, and talk about holding it. That route suits anyone with an event on the calendar or a tight timeline.

A take-home plan runs differently. We take impressions or a digital scan and make trays that fit only your teeth, then show you how much gel to load and how long to wear them. You whiten at your own pace, and you come back so we can check your progress and your gums. The trays stay yours afterward, which makes them the cheapest way to hold a shade for years.

Plenty of patients do both. One in-office session to reach the shade, trays to keep it there. If veneers or bonding are also on your mind, the order matters. Whiten the natural teeth first, settle the shade, then match any restoration to it, because porcelain cannot be bleached later.

You may feel the gel working as pressure, or as short, sharp zings of sensitivity during the session or just after. Tell us beforehand if cold already bothers you, because that changes how we run it.

Whitening only changes natural tooth structure. It will not lighten crowns, veneers, or most fillings, so older work can stand out once the teeth around it lighten. If you have visible restorations in front, we plan the shade around them rather than whitening and hoping.

Teeth that are gray rather than yellow respond less predictably than teeth stained on the surface. That is worth knowing before you set your expectations, and it is the main reason we look at your teeth before recommending a route.

Whitening also changes nothing about shape, length, or spacing. If what bothers you is a chipped edge, a worn front tooth, or a gap, whitening is the wrong tool and will leave you the same shape in a brighter color. Bonding can rebuild a small chip in one visit, and it is a far smaller commitment. Veneers change color and shape together. Crowding is an aligner conversation rather than a whitening one.

Active decay and gum disease get treated first, because gel against an unhealthy tooth or inflamed gum is neither comfortable nor useful. And if whitening genuinely cannot get you where you want to be, we will say so at the consultation rather than selling you a course of it to find out.

Some patients notice temporary sensitivity during or after whitening. Professional supervision helps, because we can lower the strength of the gel, shorten the time it stays on, space the sessions out, or start you on a desensitizing product first. Tell us if you have had sensitivity before, or if a cold drink already makes you wince.

Whitening fades. Which habits you actually have changes the plan, so tell us about the daily coffee or the tobacco before we choose a route. Rinsing with water after a dark drink helps more than people expect. So does keeping your cleanings, because stain and plaque build along the gum line where a tray reaches least well. If you kept your take-home trays, a short touch-up now and then holds the shade without starting over.

How long a result lasts varies from person to person, and we would rather tell you that than quote you a number that does not apply to your mouth.

Cost depends on whether you choose in-office treatment, custom take-home trays, or both. A touch-up kit and replacement trays are priced separately from the first course, which is worth knowing before you choose between the two routes. Avora Dental is on State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs, and we see cosmetic patients from Longwood, Winter Park, Maitland, and Casselberry.