Dull, discolored, or yellow teeth can impact your self-confidence. If you avoid smiling with your teeth, you can’t show your personality around others. Whitening stained teeth can help you feel less embarrassed about your smile. We can help whiten your smile without the wait. At Hebron Family Dental, we provide in-office and take-home professional teeth whitening to patients in Carrollton, TX.
Teeth whitening is a cosmetic treatment we customize to each patient’s smile. Its goal is to change the shade of teeth by multiple shades. We will help you meet your cosmetic goals with the best whitening treatment for your needs.
Why Do I Have Tooth Stains?
In most cases, tooth stains is gradual. If you don’t brush and floss enough, a thin bacterial film called plaque will cover your teeth and gums. This film makes the teeth appear discolored. Highly pigmented foods and drinks like wine, coffee, soy sauce, and berries can stain teeth over time.
Your teeth can also wear down due to aggressive brushing, acidic foods and drinks, or medications and medical conditions. This wear uncovers dentin, a dark underlayer beneath the white tooth enamel.
Problems like sudden dental trauma can also discolor teeth. A hit to the tooth can damage the blood vessels within, which makes the tooth appear gray or brown. A chip or crack in a tooth can also discolor the tooth.
ZOOM Teeth Whitening Treatments in Carrollton, TX
Our office uses ZOOM in-office and take-home teeth whitening. We’ll find the best option to meet your needs and goals.
In-office Treatment
ZOOM is a type of laser teeth whitening treatment. To begin in-office teeth whitening treatment with ZOOM, we clean your teeth. Cleaning your teeth removes bacteria and food buildup so whitening reaches throughout the smile.
Then, we cover the gums to expose the teeth. We apply the whitening gel evenly to each tooth. Then, we use a ZOOM light to help active ingredients like hydrogen peroxide penetrate the tooth enamel.
We will remove the gel and repeat this to ensure we reach your desired tooth shade. It takes about an hour to complete an in-office teeth whitening treatment. Because you can get quick results, many patients like to get treatment before special events like weddings or graduations.
Take-Home Treatment
The take-home teeth whitening from ZOOM uses a whitening tray and gel so you can brighten your teeth at home. Our office will create custom trays. You will visit our office so we can take dental impressions of your teeth. We send these impressions to a lab, where technicians will create your trays.
Then, you will return to our office, where we will provide your trays and whitening gel. At-home teeth whitening is customized to your needs. We will provide instructions on how often to wear your whitening trays daily.
At home, you will evenly apply the gel to the inside of your trays. Then, you will wear the trays for the appropriate amount of time. If you get in-office whitening first, you can touch up your results with take-home trays. Take-home whitening can take multiple weeks.
How to Cover Deep Tooth Stains
Some patients have stains we cannot remove with professional whitening treatment. This is because intrinsic stains are harder to remove. Intrinsic stains are stains within the tooth. Extrinsic stains occur on the tooth’s surface. We can remove these stains with a tooth whitening treatment.
Otherwise, we recommend these cosmetic and restorative treatments for our patients:
- Dental Bonding: Tooth bonding uses composite resin to cover damaged and discolored teeth. Dental bonding is an great option for small chips or cracks in the teeth and single discolored teeth. The bonding material can change the shape and color of teeth.
- Veneers: Dental veneers are thin tooth-colored shells that cover the front of teeth in the smile zone. Veneers are best for patients who want to ensure their white smile lasts for years.
- Dental Crowns: We’ll recommend dental crowns if you have worn or damaged teeth and tooth discoloration. A dental crown is a cap that can cover a single tooth. We recommend porcelain crowns because they are strong and we can color-match them to other teeth.
Teeth Whitening FAQs
Learn more about teeth whitening treatment in our Carrollton, TX, dental office with answers to these common questions:
How do you maintain teeth whitening results?
Follow these tips to keep your teeth bright after treatment:
- Brush and floss twice a day
- Use a fluoride toothpaste
- Avoid acidic or deeply pigmented foods and drinks
- Visit our office twice a year for an exam and cleaning
- Get touch-ups in our office
Does teeth whitening hurt?
Teeth whitening can increase tooth sensitivity if you already have tooth wear. Bleaching agents that enter your tooth can also irritate your tooth’s nerves. If you know you have sensitive teeth, let us know so we can use a whitening gel with fewer active ingredients.
Is teeth whitening safe?
Yes, teeth whitening is safe when done correctly. Some people may notice mild tooth or gum sensitivity, but we take steps to reduce any discomfort.
First, our trays are designed to whiten only your teeth, not your gums. If you choose in-office whitening, we protect your gums to prevent irritation. We also only recommend teeth whitening for adults. Children can’t get treatment because their teeth are still developing.
How long does teeth whitening last?
Your teeth whitening results should last six or more months. You can visit our office for touch-up treatment. We recommend that you visit us to maintain your results every six to twelve months.
Can I whiten my teeth if I have dental work like crowns or fillings?
If you have dental work like crowns, fillings, or veneers, teeth whitening won’t change their color. Whitening treatments only work on natural teeth. This means that if your natural teeth get whiter, your crowns or fillings may look different from the rest of your teeth.
If you want an even smile, we can help you decide the best way to match your dental work to the color of your whitened teeth. You may need to replace your crowns or fillings after whitening for a more uniform look.
How do tobacco products stain teeth?
Tobacco products, like cigarettes and chewing tobacco, can stain your teeth because they contain tar and nicotine. Tar is naturally dark, and nicotine turns yellow when it mixes with oxygen. These substances stick to the surface of your teeth and leave behind yellow or brown stains.
Over time, these stains can become deeper and harder to remove. Smoking or chewing tobacco also increases plaque buildup, which can make your teeth more prone to stains. The longer you use tobacco, the harder it is to keep your teeth white.
Can fluoride stain teeth?
Too much fluoride at a young age can change the color of teeth. Dental fluorosis occurs in children as their teeth develop. The signs of fluorosis include white lines, spots, or marks on teeth.
This is harmless and will NOT weaken your child’s teeth. But it can still impact the look of the teeth. We may recommend teeth whitening treatment as your child becomes a teen or adult to help remove these spots.
How is professional teeth whitening different from store-bought teeth whitening?
Professional teeth whitening is much more powerful than store-bought options. Our teeth whitening treatments have higher levels of hydrogen peroxide, the active ingredient that bleaches teeth. Store-bought toothpaste and strips can’t deliver the best results because they don’t have enough of this ingredient.
Brighten Your Teeth
Get a white and bright smile with teeth whitening treatment in our Carrollton, TX office. Call us today at 972-820-8780. You can also schedule an appointment at Hebron Family Dental online.
Do you want to know if you’re a good candidate for professional whitening? Feel free to ask Dr. Andrea Canales and Dr. William Jennings questions at your next visit. They’ll be happy to help you.