We recommend tooth bleaching. I didn’t recommend it for the first 10 years that it was available because I was worried that it might cause cancer. I’ve been a dentist for 32 years. After 30 years of tooth bleaching being done, millions and millions of patients have done it with recorded research.
I have only seen positive results. Tooth bleaching will kill the bacteria around the teeth which makes the gums healthier. When the teeth are bleached and whiten up, people just naturally take better care of their teeth.
We can sell bleaching strips which attach to the teeth but bleaching trays are really the best.
Bleaching trays will custom fit a person’s teeth and are more likely to bleach the entire tooth and leave no gaps while the bleaching strips won’t provide as complete a cover for the teeth. My recommendation is that you use bleach an hour a day. Usually in 7-14 days your teeth are bleached whiter than natural shades or to whatever shade you want to get.
We recommend that if you are a smoker or drink coffee that you just bleach for one hour, once a month.
I have done in-office tooth bleaching though I don’t typically recommend that any more. There are some offices that use a bright light or a laser light but it’s been demonstrated in the research that the light may not be a significant help with the bleaching.
The in-office bleaching is more expensive and even if you do in-office bleaching, you still may need to have the trays or the strips to touch up with.
It’s more economical and just better to have trays for bleaching.
I really do recommend tooth bleaching pretty much for anybody unless they’ve had a lot of crowns and fillings. Tooth bleaching will not whiten a crown or a filling. If your teeth are matched to your crowns then you shouldn’t bleach but of course we always talk about that situation with patients.