Teeth whitening in Wilbraham

Why Whiten Your Teeth?

Brushing and flossing keep your teeth healthy every day, but even with such regular care, our teeth can change in color over time. Our tooth color comes from a combination of the enamel (the tooth’s hard outer layer) and the dentin (the soft inner layer). Some people genetically have thinner tooth enamel, enabling the dentin to be more visible, but other circumstances can stain or discolor our teeth.

These include:

• Tobacco products (nicotine and tar are two huge staining culprits)
• Foods and beverages with intense color pigments (coffee, tea, red wines, and colas)
• Aging (tooth enamel thins as we age, making dentin more noticeable)
• Certain medical treatments and medications (chemotherapy, radiation around the neck and head, high blood pressure medication, antihistamines, antipsychotics)
• Tooth decay or trauma (the body’s natural reaction to an injured tooth is to produce more dentin, which can show through the enamel)

In addition to brightening your smile, tooth whitening is an excellent preparation for restorative dental work such as dentures, a bridge, a veneer, or a crown. These treatments don’t respond to whitening because they’re stain-resistant, so acquiring them after whitening tends to make them more obvious.

Opalescence Go^®: Impressive Teeth Whitening at Home

Opalescence Go is one professional-strength take-home treatment that we carry to bleach your teeth discreetly at home with impressive results within five to ten days. Available only from dentists, this product comes with prefilled trays that mimic custom-fit ones for comfort without any mixing or

measuring of ingredients. Simply center one of the trays over your upper and lower teeth and bite, then swallow, to secure the gel inside. Remove the colored outer tray and wear the inner tray for your treatment time. Throw away each tray and brush your teeth as you normally would each day when finished.

The kits contain either 10 percent hydrogen peroxide or 15 percent hydrogen peroxide, along with potassium nitrate and fluoride, two ingredients proven to increase the hardness of tooth enamel, minimize sensitivity, and reduce cavities. You’ll wear the 10 percent concentration for 30 to 60 minutes daily or the 15 percent concentration for 15 to 20 minutes daily. The kits also come in two flavors, mint and melon, so the gel has no unpleasant taste.

GLO^®: Whiten Teeth at Home or On the Go

Our office in Wilbraham also carries the innovative GLO teeth whitening system, in which a patented mouthpiece and premixed vials of professional-strength bleaching ingredients work together quickly without causing sensitivity.

To use GLO, first brush and floss your teeth, then treat your lips with the enclosed balm for protection. Squeeze a pea-size amount of whitening gel from one vial onto its brushed tip and brush onto your upper and lower teeth in a circular motion. Then insert the mouthpiece, which is attached to a handy remote that uses light and warming heat to activate and accelerate the whitening formula. You’ll wear the mouthpiece for eight minutes, then rinse and reapply the gel.

The gel contains 9 percent hydrogen peroxide. Rinsing and reapplying also decreases sensitivity to the treatment but produces remarkable results. The system is designed for you to do four consecutive treatments of eight minutes each over five days to take your teeth an average of five shades brighter. You can use the system for up to ten days in a row.

Call Today to Schedule a Teeth Whitening Appointment

If you have additional questions about how we can help boost the brightness of your smile, please call our office in Wilbraham to speak to our helpful staff or schedule an appointment. Call us today at (413) 241-6871 or book an appointment online.