11 Jan Is Professional Teeth Whitening Right for You?
Whitening your teeth can boost your confidence. However, professional teeth whitening treatments are not right for everyone. Your age, dental or medical history, and current state of health can all factor into the decision. Here’s how to decide if professional teeth whitening is right for you.
What Are the Benefits of Professional Whitening Treatments?
There are three big benefits to professional whitening your teeth, your confidence will increase, and it will be safer and more effective.
Safer Than At-Home Whitening
If used improperly at-home whitening can cause permanent damage to your teeth. When you go through the whitening process with a professional, they are able to mitigate your risks and ensure you are not pushing your teeth and gums past their threshold.
More Effective
Professional tooth whitening is more effective than the at-home varieties. This is because your dentist is able to use stronger whiteners than are available at the store. Your dentist will also tailor the whitening experience to help you reach your goals faster than at-home products.
Increased Confidence
A whiter smile, like other cosmetic dentistry, can help boost your confidence. This can have ripple effects throughout your life. For example, it can improve your mental health, and make you more confident at work, and in your personal life.
A good candidate for professional teeth whitening should:
- Be over the age of 16—The nerve center is larger in young teeth, and whitening treatments can cause sensitivity.
- Want to whiten their natural teeth—The materials used to make fillings, crowns or veneers cannot be whitened. If you have restorations, they will need to be replaced to match the lighter color of your teeth after whitening.
- Have no allergies to the active ingredients—Many people are allergic or sensitive to ingredients like hydrogen peroxide.
- Not have sensitive teeth—Whitening can make the tooth enamel thinner, and many people have reported that their sensitivity got worse after whitening.
- Not be pregnant or lactating—There is very limited research available on the effects of whitening teeth during pregnancy and lactation. Therefore, it is best to wait for this type of cosmetic treatment.
Are You Ready for a Brighter Smile?
For professional teeth whitening in Prescott, Arizona, make an appointment at Hicks Dental Group. Our dentists will examine your teeth to determine what level of whitening they can handle, and discuss how we can help you reach your smile goals. If you want to explore your teeth whitening options, contact us to make an appointment today.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (1/10/25). Photo by Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash