Getting brighter teeth is a breeze when you visit Sachem Dental Group in Long Island. Whether you’re just hoping to lighten the natural color of your smile, are planning an amazing makeover, or have tenacious stain from medications you took as a child, our professional same day teeth whitening treatment is usually the first place most people turn.
PHOTO: Before and after same day teeth whitening. Get results in just one visit!
If you need something faster than our traditional take-home tray system, then a same-day whitening treatment can be completed right here in our Suffolk County office!
What is Same Day Whitening?
Instead of whitening your teeth over the course of a couple of weeks, you can opt to jump-start the process by having your smile brightened in just one appointment. Some of the reasons you might want to talk to our Long Island cosmetic dentists about same day whitening include:
- An upcoming special event, such as a wedding
- To improve how you feel about your smile
- Planning for a job interview or big promotion
- As a gift to a family member
- A college or high school graduation
- Before getting other cosmetic treatment like veneers, bonding, or a crown
- To enhance your teeth during Invisalign treatment
With an in-house bleaching treatment, we’re able to remove deep stains and natural discoloration from your teeth in one sitting. It’s safe, effective, and gentle enough for people with healthy teeth and gums. Depending on your teeth, you can expect to see anywhere from 3-8 shades of improvement after your procedure.
What to Expect During Your Bleaching Appointment
Before whitening your teeth, we’ll want to make sure your smile is healthy and there are no other pressing concerns. Usually we’ll take an impression of your teeth and discuss any questions, then get you scheduled for the procedure. You can complete your whitening consultation and exam at any time, including your routine six month checkup appointment!
A typical same day teeth whitening session takes about an hour to an hour and a half from start to finish. First, we’ll use a special retractor to keep your lips pulled back away from the gel. Next, a protective liquid coating is brushed over your gums to prevent the gel from coming into contact with your gingiva. We may need to gently polish away any surface stains so that the gel can penetrate your tooth enamel as effectively as possible.
When the time comes to apply the gel to your teeth, it’s brushed across all of the surfaces that are visible when you smile. If it’s a light activated formula, we will use a special ultraviolet light to trigger the oxidation process, which is where the peroxide solution penetrates the stain particles across your porous tooth surface. This phase of the treatment takes about 15 minutes total. After that, we rinse the gel away and re-apply it to repeat this step another 2-3 times.
To prevent any tooth sensitivity, we use a specially formulated gel that’s gentle on your enamel. We might also ask you to use an anti-sensitivity toothpaste a couple of weeks leading up to the appointment and as needed following your procedure.
Maintenance and Touch-ups
We send most of our same day teeth whitening patients home with a special tray to use for touch-ups. It’s the same type of appliance you would wear if you were using our take-home bleaching system.
In instances of severe internal (intrinsic) tooth stain, you may want to wear the trays with the take-home gel for an hour a day up to one week. Otherwise, we recommend touching up for a few days in a row after each of your six month checkups. If you drink a lot of coffee, soda, or use tobacco products then you may need to touch up as frequently as every 3-4 months.
Any time you run out of the gel, just stop by our Suffolk County cosmetic dental office to pick up a refill! You can store it in your refrigerator to help the gel last longer between your touch-ups.
Why Whitening Comes First
When people come to Sachem Dental Group for our Long Island smile makeovers, some of the first things we want to know is what you like (or don’t care for) about your current smile and what it is you want to change. Since the color of your teeth has a tremendous impact on your smile’s overall appearance, whitening is one of the most effective ways to help you feel good about the way it looks.
Additionally, we encourage teeth whitening prior to other types of cosmetic treatment. Even if bleaching doesn’t completely eliminate the need for other smile enhancements, it gives us a brighter canvas to match upcoming restorations against.
For instance, if you need to crown a front tooth, we want it to be as bright of porcelain as is appropriate. If your teeth are dark, the porcelain will be dark too. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to go back and bleach your teeth later without having to change the crown out with a new one to match. By whitening your teeth ahead of time, we can select the most appropriate shade that will maintain a brighter appearance in the future. Porcelain and tooth colored fillings or crowns can’t be lightened later on. Whitening now can save you plenty of extra time (and money) later!
Cost of Same Day Teeth Whitening
Although more affordable than most Long Island cosmetic dental treatments, same day whitening does cost more than a take home kit. Prices do fluctuate and depend on if you need any other types of treatment in the meantime (like addressing a cavity before you bleach the tooth.)
Plus, you can get flexible payment options with 0% interest to make low monthly installments and pay your procedure off at any time. Financing is available on all of our Long Island cosmetic treatments, including in-house same day teeth whitening.
We encourage you to call our office at any time to get current pricing. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to enhance your smile’s appearance! Book a consultation today to get started.