Whether you’re planning your wedding day, attending an important work conference, or just want to polish the old enamel, in-office professional teeth bleaching can be the right solution for you. When you’re planning such a big day, it’s recommended to always go into the office for professional teeth bleaching, also known as chairside whitening. Before we get into how much professional teeth bleaching costs, let’s talk about what professional teeth bleaching is.
Why would you need professional teeth bleaching?
Teeth can become discolored and stained for many different reasons – from the beverages you drink on a daily basis to just natural aging over time. There are hundreds upon hundreds of ways that you can whiten your teeth online, some can be harmful, or just downright useless which is why we recommend in-office professional teeth bleaching.
Some reasons why our teeth might be stained:
- Coffee, tea, wine
- Tobacco use
- Poor dental hygiene
- Medical or dental disease
- Non-regulated whitening materials
- Aging
- Genetics
Due to the staining of your natural teeth color, you may feel the need to whiten your teeth. At our Austin, Texas dental office, we offer both in-office and at-home teeth bleaching for affordable prices! All of our professional teeth bleaching options are enamel and gum safe because our main goal is having optimal oral health.
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
- How much does it cost to bleach a tooth?
- Is it good to get your teeth professionally whitened?
- How do professionals bleach teeth?
- What type of professional teeth whitening is best?
- How much does professional teeth whitening cost?
- How do dentists whiten teeth?
- How much is teeth whitening at a dentist vs. at home?
- How long does professional teeth whitening last?
Some Great Answers:
- When bleaching teeth, we prefer to whiten all the front-ward facing teeth instead of just one tooth. If you are happy with the shade of your teeth and want one tooth to match cosmetically, we recommend porcelain veneers.
- Getting your teeth professionally whitened is the safest and easiest way to achieve your cosmetic goals.
- The process of teeth bleaching at our office is simple, we retract your cheeks and place a protective barrier on your gums, and begin the application of bleaching gel on your teeth. After some time, we suction the gel off and repeat the process!
- We recommend in-office teeth whitening as it can be monitored by dental professionals.
- The cost varies, typically, it is $599 for in-office.
- Dentists whiten teeth by retracting your cheeks and placing a protective barrier on your gums to begin the application of bleaching gel on your teeth. After some time, they suction the gel off and repeat the process!
- Teeth whitening at home can be significantly cheaper than going to the dentist to get it done professionally. However, the results may not always be what you prefer.
- Teeth whitening can last anywhere from 6 months to 2-3 years with continued at-home care.
Now, that we know why you might need professional teeth bleaching…
What are the different types of teeth bleaching?
There are two methods of teeth bleaching, in-office teeth bleaching and at-home teeth bleaching. Both methods utilize peroxide-based bleaching agents. The main difference between in-office and at-home whitening is that in-office whitening contains a higher percentage of the peroxide-based bleaching agent and a dental professional is applying the gel to your teeth.
When having your teeth whitened in the office, the appointment is typically 2-3 hours long, we do this to ensure that the whitening agent has plenty of time to do the work that is necessary for the shade you want. Having a higher percentage of the peroxide-based bleaching agent applied to your teeth for this long period of time allows the teeth to become whiter than at-home whitening options.
There’s a simple routine we follow at our Austin-based dental office that has brightened hundreds of smiles.
Professional Teeth Bleaching Procedure in Office
Our first goal is to get you comfortable during your dental appointment. The Dental Assistant or Hygienist that will be completing your procedure will greet you and seat you in one of our operatories. We can offer a neck pillow, blanket, or turn on the massage chair for your visit. We also have TVs on the wall and ceiling to allow you to kick back and enjoy a movie or your favorite tv show.
What to expect from your professional teeth bleaching in steps:
- An initial shade will be taken of your teeth
- A protective barrier will be used to prevent the teeth-whitening gel from irritating your gums
- Our dental professional applies the Opalescence Boost teeth bleaching gel with a brushed, gentle tip
- Your dental professional will continue this process for two hours and begin the fabrication of your custom whitening trays after your appointment is over
When beginning the teeth bleaching procedure, your provider will insert a cheek retractor in your mouth. This is done to expose all the teeth that are visible when you smile. A hardening resin or liquid rubber dam is painted onto the exposed gum tissue. We implement this barrier to protect against any irritation that can be caused by the whitening gel.
At this point, we are ready to begin applying the whitening gel to your teeth!
Some of the benefits of in-office professional teeth bleaching:
- Safe for your enamel and tooth structure
- Minimal to no sensitivity during and after treatment
- No gingival isolation is required to protect your gums
- No hot or uncomfortable LED lights
- Short and simple whitening treatments
After 15-20 minutes, the gel gets suctioned or washed off. After 15 to 30 minutes, our dental professional adds more gel to your teeth to continue the whitening process. This continues for 2 hours in the office allowing you to get the best outcome possible.
At Home Teeth Whitening
At our office, we offer two forms of at-home teeth custom teeth bleaching. The method is similar, but the process of acquiring your custom at-home whitening trays can be different. Starting with our in-office whitening, our dental professional applies the strengthened formula whitening gel in-office, scans your mouth, and begins the fabrication of custom whitening trays.
These custom-whitening trays fit the unique shape of your mouth and it is recommended to keep up your whitening regime with our convenient take-home whitening tubes. At our Austin Dental practice, we like to think of this as a headstart on the whitening process. Having the strengthened formula in the office with continued at-home care allows your smile to be as bright as you are with no hassle.
If you are an extremely busy person and don’t have time to sit in the dental chair for 2 hours, there’s an option for you. At our Austin dental office, you can schedule a brief itero scan appointment, this allows you to get a 3D tour of your mouth with one of our dental assistants. After that appointment, we can begin the fabrication of custom whitening trays for at-home use.
While you won’t get the headstart that is provided with our in-office whitening, you can still use your custom trays at home with our strengthened whitening gel. Why can’t I just whiten my teeth with over-the-counter whitening products?
You can definitely have a positive result from over-the-counter teeth bleaching products. Some end up extremely satisfied with over-the-counter whitening products, while others, might feel like nothing changed. This can be due to over-the-counter teeth bleaching products that tend to have more diluted whitening ingredients. Due to a weaker formula, the results may not be what some expect.
It is also important to note that over-the-counter products can irritate your gums due to the bleaching material extending past your teeth. This is because over-the-counter products aren’t custom designed for your mouth which can cause issues with your overall oral health. While you can be happy with the results from over-the-counter whitening products, others may find the need for in-office teeth bleaching that better aligns with their lifestyle and goals.
In-office teeth bleaching involves treatments performed by a dental professional with a higher percentage of bleaching agents that can lighten the teeth by several shades.
The Cost
At Belterra Dental, we ensure you are satisfied with your teeth bleaching and begin work on custom whitening trays immediately after your appointment. You can expect these custom at-home whitening trays within two weeks of your initial whitening appointment. We recommend whitening at least once a month at home to keep your smile as bright as you.
The cost for in-office whitening is $599. This covers your full appointment in the office, your custom whitening trays at home, and a whitening tube to get you started. We ensure you have adequate instructions for at-home care and are always a phone call away if you need anything. Patients who complete Invisalign clear aligner therapy at our office get a discounted whitening price of $450.
If you would just like custom whitening trays for at-home use, we can offer them to you at a cost of $350. This professional teeth bleaching kit includes a quick scan in our office, custom whitening trays, and a whitening tube to get you started at home. While the at-home trays aren’t professional strength, you will still see some great results! Check out some of our smile transformations here!
If you are interested in getting custom whitening in Austin, Texas, we recommend scheduling a full cleaning and exam first with one of our talented providers. We want to ensure your teeth and gums are healthy before we begin the whitening process. This is because your oral health is our first priority! Get scheduled for your in-office whitening or full cleaning and exam below!