Teeth Whitening

Help Your Smile Shine Bright

People have their teeth whitened on a regular basis so that they can look and feel great. As people age, it is common for teeth to become dull and yellow. This is in part due to age itself and also due to what a person eats and drinks. Drinking coffee, tea and wine, for example, can stain your teeth. Smoking and eating foods that contain food coloring can also stain your teeth. Brushing immediately after eating and drinking can help to prevent stains but is typically not enough to remove the risk entirely. Fortunately, stained and yellow teeth don't have to stay that way.

In-office whitening can brighten your smile up to 8 shades lighter. That's 6 shades lighter than store bought whitening products.

Types of Whitening

There are several types of teeth bleaching that you can try. People typically start by using whitening toothpaste at home. This can help to brighten your teeth but is typically not enough to actually whiten them. We recommend toothpaste as part of an overall teeth whitening treatment but not by itself. After professional whitening, the toothpaste can help your teeth stay bright.

Many people may try over the counter solutions like whitening trays or strips. These treatments work but not as well as professional solutions. As with most things, what you buy in the store is simply not as strong as what you can get from a medical professional. Additionally, store bought whitening trays are designed to fit everyone's teeth, not your teeth specifically. This means that they can become loose, and the solution can leak, leading to gum irritation.

We recommend that people in Scottsdale, schedule an appointment with Dr. Sarko instead. Our professional tooth whitening solutions can transform the appearance of your teeth in a dynamic way. This is partially due to the strength of the solution that we use. Professional grade whitening gel can whiten teeth by eight shades or more vs. around two shades with store bought solutions. If you are looking for immediate and dramatic results, in-office whitening is a far better option.

Scottsdale Tooth Whitening

At Sarko Dental Associates, we provide patients with information on two main types of dental whitening. Some dental offices provide whitening services in the office while others focus on treatments that can be completed at home. An in-office treatment can be done at the same time as a teeth cleaning or during a separate appointment. It is typically completed within an hour and produces immediately white teeth. For many people, this is an ideal solution because of how quickly it is finished.

Dentists have coined the term "bleachorexia" for those people who overuse in-store bleaching which can lead to the destruction of enamel and dentin, turning the teeth to mush.

In our dental office, we also recommend whitening trays. This type of procedure is effective and puts patients in control over how white their teeth become and how often they are whitened. We start by taking an impression of a patient's teeth. We then use this impression to create customized whitening trays in a dental lab. They fit securely around teeth and will not leak solution into the mouth. This is an ideal way for patients to whiten teeth because once they are created, they can be used at any time. Patients are provided with a whitening solution to use at home, and the trays need to be worn for a couple of hours every night for a week or more. Once teeth have reached the perfect shade of white, a patient can stop wearing the trays. This portable solution can be taken anywhere, making it possible for people to whiten teeth while on vacation, business trips or after moving to a new city.