In-office Whitening
In-office bleaching or dentist whitening allows significant color change to be accomplished within in a short time span of only one hour or so, making it major benefit of professional whitening.
During in-office tooth whitening, the tooth whitening dentist applies a protective gel to your gums or a rubber shield to protect the oral soft tissues. A relatively high-concentration peroxide gel is then carefully applied to the teeth by the tooth whitening dentist. Generally, the peroxide remains on the teeth for several 15 to 20 minute intervals, a special light (such as laser light or plasma arc light) is used to enhance and activate the action of the tooth whitening agent.
For individuals with particularly stubborn staining may be advised to return for one or more additional tooth whitening sessions, or may be asked to continue with a home whitening kit.
Advantages of In-Office Whitening
- Professional tooth whitening is a safe form of tooth bleaching
- Gum and tooth sensitivity are more controllable today due to thicker peroxide gels and the use of desensitizers such as potassium nitrate and fluoride.
Disadvantages of In-Office Whitening
- In-office bleaching is more expensive than take-home bleaching alternatives.
- In-office bleaching is not a permanent solution. After the one hour whitening treatment is completed, teeth do still resume accumulating stains. Many dentists therefore recommend the home bleaching maintenance kits with a follow-up lower-percentage bleach
Types of In-office Tooth Whitening
Whitening teeth with in-office teeth whitening is determined by the concentration of peroxide in the whitening agent and the amount of time the whitening agent is placed on the surface of teeth. For teeth to whiten, teeth need to be exposed to an appropriate teeth whitening agent for an appropriate amount of time. Below are some popular chairside tooth whitening brands and the different light sources utilized.
Click on each of the below in-office teeth whitening systems to find out more about each brand:
| Zoom! | Metal Halide Light |
| Zoom WhiteSpeed | LED Light |
| Zoom QuickPro | No Light |
| Pola | Plasma Arc/LED Light/No light |
| LaserSmile | A Biolase Laser |
| Opus 10 | A Opus Laser |
| Beyond | Gas Plasma Light |
| BriteSmile | Gas Plasma Light / Light Emitting Diode |
| Rembrandt | Plasma Arc Light |
| Sapphire Plasma Arch | Plasma Arc Light |
| LumaCool | Halogen Light |
| Captivate NUPRO | No Light |
| Opalescence | No Light |
| Niveous | No Light |
| LumiBrite | Plasma Arc / No Light |
There are also many other LED Light based teeth whitening systems including Mega Light, LITEX, LumaCool, Cyrstal teeth whitening and plasma arch teeth whitening such as Ultra-lite teeth whitening.
Many of above same in-office teeth whitening systems also carry a take-home tooth whitening kits version for patients to bring home for touch-up or follow on treatment.
In-office tooth whitening procedure
During your in-office professional teeth whitening systems using light-activate gels, the individual teeth whitening steps are very simliar varying simply with the bleaching light used to activate the teeth whitening gel.
- Checkup on whether in-office teeth whitening is suited for individual
- Scaling/cleaning/polishing (if opted)
- Evaluate the individual’s pre-whitening treatment tooth shade
- Isolate those teeth being to be teeth whitened with dam
- Place eye protection
- Apply peroxide teeth whitening gel onto the surface of teeth
- Activate tooth whitener with tooth whitening light (if required)
- Teeth whitener is left on teeth for period of time and done in cycles for certain tooth whitening treatments
- Dam and gel is removed and cleaned
- Evaluate the individual’s post-whitening treatment tooth shade
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