Teeth Whitening – Kerrville, TX

Teeth Whitening Options

We can whiten your teeth in our dental office using a special gel and mouthguard that takes around 30 to 45 minutes and can lighten your teeth up to 3 full shades in one treatment.

Dr. Butler can also create a set of custom mouthguards, and prescribe an ADA approved bleaching agent (typically carbamide peroxide, while there are other options) which you can use at home. Typically, you apply the gel to your teeth and wear the mouthguards twice a day for a short period of time, or overnight every night for two weeks.

There are several types of products available for use at home, which can either be dispensed by your dentist or purchased over the counter. Custom bleaching trays can be made in our dental office and trays with bleaching product can be sent home with the patient for extremely successful bleaching.

Bleaching toothpastes do not actually penetrate and lift away stains; instead, they merely use abrasive compounds to scrub surface stains off of your teeth.

Take-Home Teeth Whitening

When you choose teeth whitening via take-home kits, you can achieve a whiter smile entirely on your own time. If you’re someone who spends a lot of time traveling or you don’t have a chance to get to the dental office often enough for regular whitening visits, take-home kits can make a big difference. All you have to do is brush and floss normally, apply the bleaching gel to the whitening trays provided to you, then wear the trays for the allotted time recommended by our dental office.

Keep in mind that our dental office’s custom-made whitening trays are not something you can expect to find in your typical pharmacy. This is because mass-produced alternatives do not effectively fit your unique smile the way our dental office’s trays can. As a result, the whitening treatment is inferior and inconsistent, causing uneven, spotty, and generally less successful whitening treatment. We’ll walk you through the whitening process so you can optimize your results!

Teeth Whitening Maintenance

When you’ve invested in your smile’s appearance, you’re going to want to do everything possible to keep it that way. To do this, you’re going to need to brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily. This keeps stains from settling into your enamel. During the first 48 hours after treatment, it’s very important that you avoid food and beverages that are richly-pigmented as these are most susceptible to staining teeth right after whitening. For example, avoid:

• Coffee
• Dark-colored sauces and beverages (red sauce, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, fruit juice, dark colas, red wine)
• Dark chocolate
• Acidic food which can weaken enamel (lemons, oranges, citrus fruits)

A good rule of thumb is to not have any food that could stain a white shirt right after whitening teeth.

If you would like to try tooth whitening to enhance your smile, call our Kerrville cosmetic dentist’s office and schedule an appointment today!