If you've already given some thought to teeth whitening, you're not alone. According to a recent American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry poll, the most common improvement that respondents said they'd like to have are whiter, brighter teeth. In fact, professional tooth whitening has become the most often requested procedure in many dental practices around the country.

Tooth Whitening Confusion
There seems to be an endless supply of over-the-counter and infomercial products flooding the market. As well as many dental offices offering a myriad of tooth whitening choices, so which method is right for you?

Over the counter products: Non-dentist supervised tooth whitening (store-bought or infomercial bought) can actually harm your teeth. Many of these products contain acid which "frosts" your teeth making them appear whiter. This can damage the enamel on your teeth. And the actual concentration of the peroxide gel is a mystery. So you never know what you are getting.

Non-Professional One-Hour whitening: A recent trend is to have your teeth whitened at the Mall or on a cruise ship. Generally, a high school kid with about 1 hour of training will whiten your teeth using the one-hour light assisted techique.   If you trust your teeth and gums to a quickly trained employee to apply potentially dangerous peroxide gels and hot lights to your mouth you are either barve or uninformend, so read on!

Dentist Supervised Professional Tooth Whitening: Here the choices are just as confusing. Night time, daytime, in office, Laser whitening, Light assisted whitening, 1 hour, half hour, etc… This is all very confusing, even for most dentists!

The Truth
Here is the simple fact: Real tooth whitening is achieved when the whitening gel releases oxygen into the tooth.  The oxygen molecules break up the stain within the tooth. The effectiveness of any tooth whitening system depends on how stained your teeth are and how permeable your teeth are to oxygen. Oxygen absorption into the tooth is improved by repeated exposure to the whitening gel. The oxygen release is a slow process. Tooth whitening is more dependent on how long the gel actually stays on the tooth, not how strong the gel is (the oxygen can only penetrate the tooth so fast -- law of diffusion). A catalyst can make this process more effective, but lasers and lights do not -- they are a gimmick and 4 peer reviewed studies prove that! In addition, a recent study showed that very high concentration gels that are used with light assisted whitening or laser whitening actually damage enamel, porcelain and white fillings.  In fact, one hour whitening is most unpredictable whitening method today because if your teeth do not absorb oxygen well, you will have a very disappointing result that will not last.  Dentists who promote Laser or Light assisted whitening are either unaware of these studies and information or are consciously defrauding their patients. Either situation is shameful.

Our Approach
After 13 years of tooth whitening and trying every technique out there, Dr. Shvartsman now offers 3 very effective tooth whitening techniques:

One method will get your teeth Natural White.  The second, Deep Whitening,  will whiten your teeth better than just trays alone and the third, Deep WhitenigMAX is the most effective tooth whitening process to date:

Natural White: This method utilizes soft clear rubber trays that have been specifically made to create a seal around the gums and reservoirs for the gel. (Most dentists do not know how to create the seal, so most of the gel just leaks out in the first 10 minutes.) The trays are worn overnight (remember contact time is very important) for 2 weeks using a low-sensitivity, low-concentration peroxide gel. This is the most effective way to use tooth whitening trays. About 90% of our patients choose this method and are very happy with the results. This method is also very cost effective.

Deep Whitening: combines the Natural White technique with 2 in office power whitening visits to whiten beyond Natural White.

Deep WhiteningMAX: After years of development, an advanced technique has recently become available to dentists. It utilizes optimized whitening gels and new, very effective desensitizing products. Amazing whitening resuts with no or very little tooth sensitivity. Deep  Whitening MAX is the most advanced and effective tooth whitening technique that is available in the world today! It is so new that most dentists have not even heard of it!  Very dark teeth and even tetracycline stained teeth will get white. If you had poor success with professional whitening, or have been told to have "resistant to whitening teeth," or just want to get your teeth their whitest. This is the method for you. We are proud to offer Deep Whitening MAX in our office
It begins with an in office tooth coinditioning visit that makes your teeth whiten better. This is followed by at home tooth whitening using our custom made silicone trays and new desensitizers. Finally, a second in office power whitening treatment using the advanced EvolveMax tooth whitening gel will make your teeth brilliantly white for that WOW effect.

One hour in-office Whitening: For the very insistant patients, who absolutely refuse to wear tooth whitening trays, we do offer  in-office power whitening. (without the gimmicky light). Due to the unpredictable nature of this whitening method, patients may need to have additional in office treatments to achieve desired results. (Remember we have no idea how permiable your teeth are to Oxygen and there is no way to test it at this time.)

Tooth Sensitivity
We only use gels that have the least tooth sensitivity associated with them. And if by some chance sensitivity does occur we provide you with specific desensitizing gel with every whitening procedure. Tooth sensitivity is only temporary and generally does not last for more than 3 days, if it does occur.

For More Information
If you're interested in a brighter new look, give our office a call: (631)361-3577. We'll be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have about tooth whitening.