What Products are Available from My Dentist for Home Tooth Whitening?

• All dentist-supervised tray whitening options rely on a whitening gel with an active ingredient — usually a form of peroxide-to bleach your teeth.
• Your dentist begins the process by making you a custom mouth tray. A custom tray is more comfortable to wear than a boil and bite mouthpiece or other moldable tray. Custom trays make it easier to whiten both your upper and lower teeth, should you want to do both. They also help minimize gum sensitivity and ensure that your teeth are properly exposed to the whitening solution.
• Your dentist will provide you with a supply of whitening gel which can be dispensed into the tray from a syringe or tube. The whitening gel usually contains either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide in a concentration of 10-22%. Depending upon the formulation you will be instructed to wear the tray daily for a few hours or overnight for a specific period of time.

The cost for dentist supervised tray bleaching is approximately $300 or more — although once you have a custom mouth tray, you need only buy touch up material to keep your teeth their whitest every year or so, due to staining from coffee, tea, red wine, smoking and other heavily pigmented foods.

• If you experience temporary sensitivity or gum irritation, consult your dentist. He or she may recommend a fluoride at-home treatment, or advise you to stop the bleaching process for a minimal period of time.

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