CASE STUDY | Dental Bleaching

Patient: Brittney, 35 Years

Problem: Wanted to enhance her beautiful smile

Solution: Teeth Whitening

We’d like to introduce you to Brittney…

Problem:

Brittney had a beautiful, healthy smile but wanted to kick it up a notch to make it dazzling!!

Solution:

During Brittney’s dental appointment with Dr. Anderson, they began to chat about a way to take her smile from beautiful to dazzling without a lot of cost. His answer was a simple, yet effective minor enhancement … dental bleaching.

Brittney already had a healthy and beautiful smile that didn’t need restorative or cosmetic treatments, like Porcelain Veneers, Dental Implants or Invisalign invisible braces … so, he recommended dental bleaching, better known as teeth whitening.

Process:

Teeth whitening (or dental bleaching) is a 1-day visit to our dental office to be fitted for a custom tooth whitening tray. After your first whitening, you are given a brief tutorial and you are on your way to a brighter smile.

We use Opalescence gels that contain an active whitening ingredient (either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide) that penetrates the enamel to get to discolored molecules. Oxygen molecules from the whitening agents react with the discolored molecules in your teeth, breaking the bonds that hold them together. The oxygen molecules spread, whitening the entire tooth. As a result, you are left with a brighter, whiter smile.

The results leave Brittney’s beautiful smile a dazzling and natural pearly white!

Most options for professional teeth whitening gel are either hydrogen or carbamide peroxide-based solutions varying in different concentrations.  These gels are safe and effective to use without fear of damaging tooth enamel.

Outcome:

Even though Brittney didn’t need restorative or cosmetic treatments, dental bleaching or professional teeth whitening, gave her a reason to smile brighter!

Many things can contribute to the discoloration and staining of teeth, including:

• Natural aging
• Poor oral hygiene
• Medications
• Foods and beverages
• Smoking and tobacco use

Remember, whitening toothpastes and mouth rinses may be able to remove some of the extrinsic stains on your teeth. But only professional teeth whitening agents can remove the stubborn extrinsic stains and the unsightly intrinsic stains that cause your teeth to look discolored.

Extrinsic Stains vs Intrinsic Stains

The best part of getting a professional whitening done is the flawless results that cannot be achieved by other methods. This is because professional whitening tackles both types of tooth stains:

• Extrinsic stains appear on the surface of your teeth
• Intrinsic stains live between the micro-cracks in your enamel and deep within your dentin (the layer of your tooth underneath your enamel)

Leave Teeth Whitening to the Professionals

Tooth whitening is not a new option to enhance smiles, as new over-the-counter products and trends are hitting drug store shelves as new formulas are continually released to the market. However, some of these OTC trends can be harmful to your teeth and can even strip the enamel and cause extreme sensitivity. We believe it’s always best to leave whitening to the professionals. As professional teeth whitening is a harmless and effective way to whiten your teeth.

A Simple Enhancement Can Transform Your Smile!

Are you ready for a smile makeover? It may not require a complete overhaul, but something as simple and fast as a professional tooth whitening session can give you even more to smile about!

When we feel good about ourselves, it changes everything! It gives us confidence, a renewed self-esteem, a bounce in our step and the ability to share our joy with other people. How, you ask? Sometimes receiving a smile from another person is all someone needs to put a smile on their own face.

Did you know that smiles are contagious? Try it! Smile at several people and see if they smile back at you. I bet they do!! You just made someone’s day!! Doesn’t that make you feel even better??

As a dental professional, we love to see our patients smile. Because we know if they LOVE their smile, they are SHARING it with OTHERS!! Life is just too short to feel self-conscious or embarrassed of your smile. And sometimes it’s a simple fix … like it was for Brittney.

Check out some of the other smile transformations we’ve had the pleasure to work with …

• Carla’s Story
• Amy’s Story
• David’s Story 
• Paula’s Story
• Charlene’s Story
• Jim’s Story
• Becky’s Story
• Ann’s Story

We have many more stories to share!!

What to Expect

Dr. Anderson and his team take the time to consult with each patient and understand what they like and do not like about their smile and what they envision as their result. Questions are answered, custom options are discussed, and the custom Smile Design process begins.

From dental exams to complete smile transformations that include multiple cosmetic dentistry procedures – the professional team at the offices of Thomas L. Anderson, DDS and Associates are constantly fine-tuning their skills through the art and science of dentistry to deliver the results their patients want.

We invite you to schedule a smile consultation if you are unhappy with your smile. We hope you’ll visit us, so we can discuss what you do and do not like about your current smile and how you would like to see your smile transform.

Here’s a Little Secret … wanna know the BEST DEAL in Dentistry??

The answer is teeth whitening. Teeth whitening is a tried and true, safe, and effective way to whiten your teeth and make your smile even more beautiful. You can even appear younger, as teeth whitening detracts from wrinkles and gives your skin a healthy glow. It improves your overall self-esteem, making you feel better about yourself. A bright smile is perceived to be a healthy smile.

Teeth whitening (or dental bleaching) is a 1-day visit to our dental office to be fitted for a custom tooth whitening tray. After your first whitening, you are given a brief tutorial and you are on your way to a newer, brighter, better smile!

If you have not tried teeth whitening, then you have not been able to enjoy all the benefits that come with having a brighter smile. Millions of people have figured out that teeth whitening is the best deal at the dentist’s office.

Whiten your teeth for a smile that looks like a million bucks!

Several Ways to Whiten Your Teeth

The simplest and least expensive is to brush and floss at least two times a day. Plaque accumulates on your teeth after eating food and drinking. Food particles can stick to and/or get caught in between teeth. If not cleaned off quickly, these particles and debris will stain and discolor your teeth.

This eventually leads to tooth decay, gum disease and cavities. Brushing the food and debris off your teeth prevents plaque from forming and keeps your teeth clean, bright, white and healthy!

Think about it, you see what happens to your dishes if you don’t clean food off of them and they sit in the sink all day. The food gets hard and is very difficult to remove from the plates, bowls, utensils, and glasses. Coffee mugs show how they can stain and discolor with time even with proper washing.

This same analogy holds true with your teeth. If you eat and drink all day and fail to brush and floss your teeth at night before you go to bed, all that food accumulates and sticks to the teeth forming plaque and hard tartar.  Once the tartar accumulates, it is even tougher to keep clean and requires a professional dental cleaning to remove the tarter build up from your teeth.

Here’s a Pro Tip

The best time to use teeth whitening services is in the first few weeks after having a professional dental cleaning and exam.

With no plaque or tartar on your teeth, the professional teeth whitening gel can better penetrate the porosities of the tooth enamel to help draw out intrinsic stains and discolorations. As we stated, most options for professional teeth whitening gel are either hydrogen or carbamide peroxide-based solutions varying in different concentrations. These gels are safe and effective to use without fear of damaging tooth enamel.

It is common to have some sensitivity during or immediately after whitening your teeth.  That is why different concentrations are available, to help make whitening your teeth more comfortable with less sensitivity. Also, the duration of time that you wear your custom teeth whitening trays can also affect this sensitivity and you may want to limit wearing nighttime trays to only 2-4 hours at a time.

Have You Heard of LASER Teeth Whitening??

In-office “laser” teeth whitening is also available if you cannot be consistent with wearing custom teeth whitening trays at home. This system will effectively whiten your teeth in a substantially shorter time. Usually, between one and three visits are required and are performed under supervision of the dentist. This method can achieve good results in a hurry but will still need to be maintained over time to keep teeth white and prevent future stain and color relapse.

Remember, you should schedule an appointment for a professional dental cleaning and exam at least two times each year. Sometimes, additional cleanings are necessary depending on your ability to keep your teeth and gums at optimal health. This professional attention helps to ensure deep teeth cleaning to get into all those hard to reach nooks and crannies.

Safe, Comfortable Treatment – Even with Professional Strength

Over-the-counter whitening treatments can cause pain and sensitivity of your teeth, due to the ingredients penetrating the surface of your teeth or contacting the gums or lips. With a professional dental whitening treatment in our office, a customized treatment makes sensitivity minimal – we can place a protective covering over your gums and lips to prevent any contact with whitening agents. Also, professional whitening services offer the help of a trained professional and they can monitor your comfort level throughout the entire process.

Confidence Booster

Feeling confident in your smile can help boost your confidence and help you develop a healthy self-esteem. With a bright, lovely smile, you are more likely to smile, and this may lead to better first impressions and help you enhance your personal and professional relationships because you are confident in your smile and in yourself. A confident, beautiful smile will help you shine and become the best version of yourself!

Take Care of Yourself AND Your Smile

Taking care of yourself and your smile is essential, and at Thomas L. Anderson, DDS and Associates, we love helping our patients reach their best and brightest smile with our professional dental whitening services. We can provide comfortable, safe, and noticeable results that remove surface and deep stains in your teeth. Give us a call today to schedule your teeth whitening appointment and let us help you achieve your dream smile.

Schedule your appointment to meet with any of our skilled dentists at one of our three conveniently located dental office locations within the Kansas City area, including Lee’s Summit / Independence, the Country Club Plaza and Downtown Kansas City. The gentle dentists and expert team at Thomas L. Anderson and Associates look forward to working with you to treat your dental emergency, achieve proper oral health and a beautiful smile that will last a lifetime. If you have any questions about your dental insurance benefits, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are happy to review your policy! Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment and become part of our dental family.