Fast Facts On Take-Home Teeth Whitening From Legendary Smiles
Everyone is on the look-out for a whiter or brighter smile, as your teeth do typically discolor with age or from habits such as tobacco use, drinking coffee or imbibing red wine. If you can believe it, teeth whitening is not a new trend. In fact, people have been whitening their teeth for more than one hundred years. Take-home whitening, when done right, is safe and is a very effective, lower-cost way to brighten your smile.
There are many at-home whitening products available, and you can either get them from Legendary Smiles, or you can visit your local pharmacy or box store. We’re here to help you do your homework and find the type that best fits your lifestyle.
There are two types of take-home teeth whitening kits. The first option is a professional kit in which the take-home whitening program is designed, prescribed, supplied, and supervised by your dentist in Havertown at Legendary Smiles. The second option is a generic, non-prescription store-bought kit. Here’s a quick run-down of these 2 options…
- Professional Take-Home Teeth Whitening Treatment
- We will make custom-made trays (made from high-grade medical plastic) that specifically contour to the unique shape of your teeth to ensure the best results because the tray not only fits well, but fits snuggly to hold the whitening product without leaking.
- The process starts by taking impressions of both your upper and lower teeth with a non-toxic dental putty. This takes mere minutes in the dental chair and we can either schedule an appointment just for this, or we can work it into another appointment such as your regular visit with your hygienist. Many of you have had impressions taken of your teeth previously … if you’ve ever had orthodontics or a dental restoration such as a crown, bridge, inlay, onlay, or implant.
- We’ll record the shade of your teeth so we can compare their before-whitening color to their final whiteness after treatment is complete.
- We’ll discuss exactly how bright you want your teeth to go. Some people just want to go a little lighter, while others want the brighter-than-bright look of Hollywood stars. Let us know what you want to achieve and we’ll discuss the possibilities.
- Once these impressions are set (again, it takes just moments), they are sent to a lab where your custom-fit trays are made. We only use the best labs, ones that have delivered great service and top-quality products.
- Once the lab completes the fabrication of your custom teeth whitening trays, they will ship them priority back to our practice.
- When your trays are here, we’ll schedule an appointment for you to come in. We may ask you stay a moment so that we can double check their fit.
- We’ll also give you one-to-one instructions on how to fill with just the right amount of whitening solution (never overfill as it will waste gel and you don’t want to ingest it), how to wear the trays, when to wear the trays, and how to clean them.