Teeth whitening has many benefits for your smile. 

Having a beautiful white smile is associated with success and good health. And these days, when people are on camera so often thanks to video meetings, live streams on social media, and video chats with friends and family, it’s never been more important to have a healthy white smile. 

Professional teeth whitening is more accessible than it’s ever been and seeing a dentist for teeth whitening has some significant advantages over at-home tooth whitening kits. 

Why You Need Tooth Whitening

Even people with great-looking smiles can benefit from teeth whitening. Over time, it’s normal for teeth to look dull—even healthy teeth. The process of getting older can make teeth look dull or gray, and teeth can become stained by everyday foods and drinks like coffee, tea, and cola. People who take certain medications may also find that tooth stains or discolorations are side effects of the medication. Teeth whitening can remove layers of stains, dullness, and discolorations to make your teeth brilliant and white again. 

Teeth Whitening Options

There are a lot of products on the market that offer some degree of whitening, but not all those products are equally effective. Some of the most common types of over-the-counter home teeth whitening products include:

• Drops.
• Trays.
• Strips.
• Toothpaste.
• Mouthwash.
• Gum.

All of these over-the-counter products claim to whiten teeth, and some of them really do. But none of these products are going to be as effective as a professional dental teeth whitening treatment. That’s because the ingredients that are in these products are much lower in concentration compared to the ingredients and techniques used by a trained dentist. 

That said, we can recommend the at-home Crest Whitening Emulsions formula. While it does take longer, and the results may be less dramatic due to the gradual brightening of your teeth, our team and our patients have loved the results we have seen.

Benefits of Professional Teeth Whitening 

Better Results

Everyone’s teeth whitening results will be different depending on what their teeth looked like before the whitening was done. However, in general, home-whitening kits and products won’t lighten teeth more than two to three shades—and even that level of lightening will take weeks, depending on the product. A professional dental whitening will lighten teeth six to eight shades, so you will see a dramatic difference in the brightness of your teeth. 

Faster Results

At-home teeth whitening kits and products take time to work. Even the trays that are filled with peroxide gel or the whitening strips that have peroxide gel on them take a long time to show any visible difference in the color of your teeth, meaning repeated treatments over multiple days. But a dental whitening works in just one short office visit. That’s because a professional formula peroxide gel has a higher concentration of peroxide that will safely lighten your teeth fast. Dentists can also use a special light in conjunction with the professional-grade peroxide gel to increase the speed of the lightening. 

Safer Whitening

When you use whitening products that you can buy at the drugstore or big box store at home, they are not custom fit to your mouth. That means you can end up getting the product on your gums and damaging your gums. And you can also damage your teeth if you overuse the products or don’t use them as per the instructions. But when you have professional whitening done by a dentist, your gums are protected by strips of silicone to make sure that none of the product comes into contact with them. And because the dentist has the training and experience to use the highly concentrated whitening gel safely, your teeth will be protected as they are lightened. 

Long-lasting Results

The results that you see from a professional dental teeth whitening treatment are going to last much longer than any results you will get from an at-home or over the counter teeth whitening product. You can also prolong the effects of your whitening treatment by maintaining a great oral hygiene routine by brushing twice a day and flossing once a day. Avoid foods and drinks that are dark colored and will dull the effects of your whitening, such as red wine, coffee, dark berries, and beets. Limit your intake or avoid tobacco products altogether, as they are notorious for causing discoloration of your teeth. 

Crest Whitening Emulsions Teeth Whitening

At MASC Dental Studio, we know that your time is valuable. We also know how important it is to have a bright white smile. We are proud to offer state-of-the-art professional dental teeth whitening and cosmetic dentistry in Washington, DC. And in case you haven’t tried it before, the Crest Whitening Emulsions teeth whitening system uses a breakthrough formula that is effective, convenient, and sensitivity-free. The entire process takes an hour or less, and when it’s done you will be given a take-home treatment to keep your smile looking great. Call us today to find out more about your teeth whitening options or to schedule an appointment for a tooth whitening consultation.