Teeth Whitening in Alexandria, MN
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Did you know…
In-office whitening can transform your smile in just one hour while take-home whitening produces the same results in 1 to 2 weeks.
How It Works: The Teeth Whitening Process
Consultation
Dr. Haack will need to examine the severity of your discoloration to determine which whitening treatment is best for you and to ensure you’re in good oral health.
Treatment Plan
After your oral exam, we will discuss your goals, budget, and time constraints, and then make a recommendation for a specific treatment.
In-Office Application
We will hold your mouth open with a cheek protractor and a protective gel will be applied to your gums to prevent irritation. The whitening gel will be applied to each of your teeth and activated with UV light. About an hour later, this will be rinsed out.
Take-Home Application
For take-home whitening, impressions are taken of your teeth and an outside dental lab fabricates custom whitening trays for you to wear at home for 1 to 2 weeks.
Types of Whitening Offered
In-Office
When we whiten your teeth in the dental office, you can expect an instant and drastic whitening boost that is perfect for upcoming special occasions.
After protecting your gums, we will apply the whitening gel individually to each of your teeth and then expose them to a UV light that activates the whitening ingredients. After about an hour, we will rinse off the whitening gel and your teeth will be up to ten shades lighter.
Take-Home
We understand how busy life can get which is why we offer a more flexible and convenient option for all of our busy-bee patients. For those who would rather whiten their teeth at home, we just need you to come in for a super-fast appointment at the office to take impressions of your teeth.
This information is sent to a dental lab that creates custom-made whitening trays to perfectly fit your teeth and protect your gums. Once we receive your whitening trays, you’ll pick them up and can start your treatment right away.
This process is much more gradual because of a lower concentration of peroxide in the whitening gel, so you will need to wear the trays every day for 1 to 2 weeks to get the same results.
Did you know…
Severely discolored teeth may require multiple sessions of in-office whitening treatments.
Find Answers About Teeth Whitening Here.
Is Teeth Whitening Safe?
Yes, teeth whitening is perfectly safe when administered by a professional dentist. Our whitening treatments are ADA-approved and contain FDA-approved ingredients. We highly discourage using over-the-counter whitening trays from drugstores which are often not ADA-approved and contain abrasive ingredients that can damage or irritate your gums.
We take many different precautions to protect the tissues in your mouth for both in-office and take-home whitening, such as using cheek retractors, protective gel, and fabricating custom-made trays that fit along the contours of your teeth and do not run over your gums.
Does Teeth Whitening Cause Sensitivity?
Tooth sensitivity following whitening treatments is common but the good news is that this is not damaging to your teeth and is only temporary. The reason your teeth feel sensitive after whitening is because the peroxide exposes the microtubules in your teeth which are connected to nerves.
This is a result of the teeth being temporarily demineralized. It takes about 48 hours for the minerals to be restored and your teeth will return to normal. To relieve your discomfort, you can
- Take anti-inflammatory pain medication
- Use a desensitizing gel
- Use toothpaste formulated for sensitivity
- Limit your exposure to extreme temperature foods and drinks
Did you know…
If you have naturally sensitive teeth, take-home whitening will be less abrasive for you.