Teeth Whitening Toronto - Your Best Options

A message from a Toronto Teeth Whitening Dentist:

Enjoy a Whiter Brighter Smile.

Hi, I’m Dr. Joe Bulger and I’m a huge fan of Teeth Whitening (also called teeth bleaching).

A whiter brighter smile can quickly take years off your appearance. People who have known me for 25 years keep telling me "You haven't changed in all this time!"

My secret? I have this magical rejuvenation potion called teeth whitening gel. I put it on my teeth and SHAZAM... I look younger.

OK, maybe not quite that fast.

I've been a cosmetic dentist in Toronto for 25+ years. Way back in the earl 90's, I used some of the first Teeth Whitening products on myself. I wanted to make sure it worked before recommending it to any patients.

Teeth Whitening was messy back then. Now it only takes me about an hour of wearing my custom trays once every 6-12 months to buff my smile back up.

Wish I could get a great set of abs that easily...

Is Teeth Whitening for You?

Do you want a brighter, more youthful smile?

Is your smile starting to look tired and faded? Age can take it's toll on your appearance, especially your teeth. With countless cups of coffee and years of usage, your smile can lose its lustre.

Teeth Whitening isn't only for movie stars. Anyone can benefit from this simple process.Consider whitening if your teeth are darkened from age, coffee, tea and/or smoking or simply if you would like to enjoy a brighter smile.

As a Teeth Whitening Toronto  Dentist, I can tell you that this is a very safe, simple, effective and affordable means of enhancing your smile. The results can be dazzling.

Perhaps a wedding is coming up and you want your smile to be its brightest, or maybe you have an important event to attend. Whatever your reason, you can soon be smiling confidently with whiter teeth.

Top 10 Best Teeth Whitening Benefits:

Here are 10 great reasons to whiten your teeth...

1. More Attractive Smile – Smiles are sexy and whiter teeth can boost your sex- appeal up a notch or two. Enhancing your allure could lead to that dream date or land you a better job. A winning smile can earn you big bonus points for any interview or date.

2. Elevate Your Mood and Self-Confidence – You’ll feel good about yourself knowing you have that terrific smile as your secret advantage. You'll find yourself smiling more often and that will make your day feel even better. A fabulous smile and a cheery disposition is a great combo.

3. Get Compliments Galore – Others will notice your smile as well as how healthy and energetic you look. Whiter teeth still has a big WOW factor. It never gets old.

4. Be Highly Regarded – When you look better, everywhere you go you’ll be treated better. Others will see you as more friendly and approachable. Everywhere you go, more doors will open up for you.

5. Super Easy – It's pratically "take-a-pill-and-you're-done" easy. Sleep at night with the trays in. Wake up and your teeth are whiter.

6. Amazingly Effective – For most people, Teeth Whitening makes a dramatic difference to the colour of their teeth. It's a Smile Makeover without any invasive procedures or big expenses.

7. Reasonably Fast – For the take-home system with the custom trays, you'll get good result within a few days and great results within a few weeks. If you're really in a rush you can have it done right in our office with Laser-Assisted Whitening.

8. Comfortable – The original Whitening products had one major drawback - tooth sensitivity. Now there's much less tooth sensitivity - the newer gel formulas have built-in desensitizers.

One big aspect of comfort is that Teeth Whitening is very non-invasive. The strength and integrity of your teeth is maintained. The only thing that happens is that Whitening will temporarily open up the pores of your teeth. That's what make them sensitive for a few days.

9. Safe – The gel for Teeth Whitening is non-toxic, non-allergenic, and very safe to use. It's basically hydrogen peroxide, which hospitals still use to directly clean wounds. Your gums can become a little irritated by the peroxide, but it sure gets them clean.

Believe it or not, Teeth Whitening was an accidental discovery from testing gum-cleansing peroxide formulas. So you get white teeth and healthy gums to boot - how cool is that!

10. Affordable – Teeth Whitening is within easy reach for most people’s budgets. We charge $250 for the take-home system with custom trays. There's usually enough gel left over to last you for the next few years with touch-ups.

It's this affordability factor that blew the doors open for Cosmetic Dentistry. Taking it from something exclusively for the rich and famous to an easily accessible opportunity for most of the general population. What made it so revolutionary was all these benefits listed above for a bargain price with no big downside.

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Best Teeth Whitening Products & Options

Here are your 4 main choices for Teeth Whitening:

1. Whitening Toothpaste. Using toothpaste to whiten teeth is a very appealing idea. Sadly, whitening toothpaste doesn't work very well. The whitening component in the toothpaste isn't strong enough to make much difference.

The bigger issue is that by opening the pores in your teeth, whitening toothpaste will make your teeth feel perpetually sensitive. Ouch!

Whitening is best done in a short time period so that the days of sensitivity can be minimized. Don't spend your money on something that will keep your teeth uncomfortably sensitive.

2. Whitening Strips. Crest Whitestrips is a well-known brand. These can work for you, though there are a few drawbacks. Not being a custom fit, it takes longer to get a decent result and there's much more fussing with the strips.The strips tend to cover the gums too much and that can lead to chemical burns on your gums.

Many people try the strips and abandom them out of frustration. If you're willing to perservere, you can get a decent result.

3. Custom Home Teeth Whitening Trays. These are my favourite. Popular brands include NiteWhite and Opalescence. Excellent results with minimal effort. Great bang for your buck.

The custom-fit trays hold the concentrated teeth whitening gel on the teeth. You can sleep with them in to increase the exposure time.

Finished results take 1-2 weeks per arch. And touch-ups can be easily done every 6-12 months to maintain a dazzling smile.

4. Laser Teeth Whitening. Laser Teeth Whitening is also called In-Office Whitening, since it must be done inside a dental office. Zoom, Sapphire and BriteSmile are amongst the popular namebrands for this process.

We use the Sapphire System, and they're all similar. They don't get your teeth any whiter than the custom tray systems, they can just get you there faster. Because this is more aggressive, your teeth tend to be more sensitive afterwards. To get the best teeth whitening results possible, you'll top off the Laser Whitening with the custom trays.

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Is Teeth Whitening Safe?

Teeth Whitening is extremely safe and very effective. It's one of the safest, least-invasive cosmetic options available to you.

The active ingredient in whitening gel is Carbamide Peroxide, a stabilized version of hydrogen peroxide. This compound breaks down into water, oxygen and urea. As the gel slowly activates, hydrogen peroxide is released that penetrates the enamel, opening the pores and bleaching the stain and extra colour from within your teeth. 

Is it toxic to swallow the gel? Not at all. Still, it's best to use thick gel that will not easily slide out of the trays.

What Are the Side Effects?

During the Teeth Whitening process, you may experience either sore gums or sensitive teeth.

The peroxide-based gel can be harsh on your gums. This is a bigger issue with Whitening Strips and poor-fitting trays. We found the Carbamide Peroxide gels (such as NiteWhite) to be less harsh than the direct Hydrogen Peroxide products (such as DayWhite). 

The open pores in the enamel of your teeth are temporarily vulnerable to sensitivity and staining. These symptoms typically disappear 1-3 days after interruption or completion of your treatment.

Best to avoid food or beverages that may stain your teeth during that time. Get in the habit of rinsing your mouth immediately after any staining beverages such as coffee, tea or red wine.

As Toronto Teeth Whitening Etobicoke Dentists we like to use the NiteWhite system from Discus Dental. These are the market leaders for a good reason. Their NiteWhite formula contains Potasium Nitrate as an effective desensitizer, along with Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP) to help re-mineralize and seal the surface of your teeth. You can expect more comfortable treatment and a glossier, whiter smile that looks better and lasts longer. 

Tooth sensitivity can be a significant issue with lower-quality whitening gels. Best to stick with the best.

The structure of your teeth isn't harmed by the Teeth Whitening proceess. In fact, the ACP creates a micro-coating  over your tooth surface that will make your newly whitened teeth stronger and shinier.

If you have very sensitive teeth or heavily worn teeth, you may need to proceed more slowly with Teeth Whitening to reduce sensitivity. You can decrease your wear time, or take a few days break. 

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Smile Standards

As a Toronto Teeth Whitening Dentist, I'm defintely into smiles. That's one of the first things I notice about people. From my personal experience, it feels way better to have a whiter, youthful smile instead of a drab, aged one.

Overall, today’s standards for smiles are higher than ever. The expectation is to have whiter teeth and those that don’t opt-in can feel left behind.

There's a level of acceptability for most things... Picture three categories - Exceptional, Acceptable, and Unacceptable.

• Exceptional draws positive attention.
  
• Unacceptable draws negative attention.
  
• Acceptable doesn't garner much attention one way or the other.
  

Even as a Teeth Whitening Dentist, I don't crave attention and that middle ground of Acceptable generally suits me just fine. Like most people, I do care about standards. I can't say I'm really into cars, but I don't want to be driving around in an old rust bucket. Along the same lines, I'm not much of a clothes horse, but I don't want to be walking around looking all shabby like I just rolled out of bed.

Here's the thing, if you fall below Acceptable you risk negative attention.  

Is there a level of acceptability for smiles? Let's put it this way, picture yourself at a social function with broccoli wedged between your front teeth. Would you feel comfortable with that? Of course not. We all adhere to personal standards of cleanliness and attractiveness.

When it comes to smiles, people have different standards. The better question is where's your threshold between Acceptable and Unacceptable? How bad do things have to be before you consider it Unacceptable? That's what varies from person to person.

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Could Your Teeth Be Whiter?

Lots of people are happy to jump all over the opportunity for whiter teeth. With the process of  Whitening Teeth so easy and affordable, it becomes a no-brainer.

Here's the funny thing... some people get all weird about it.

Some take it like a slap in the face. Suggesting someone's teeth could be whiter isn't exactly saying "You're ugly!" but some take it that way.

Now, if I met you at a social gathering and out of the blue suggested your smile could benefit from Teeth Whitening, that would be unbelievably rude of me.

In a professional setting, it's a different matter. Once you're in my care, one of my roles is to help you explore your opportunities for a healthier, more attractive smile.

Occasionally I meet people that have such a rigid stance against beauty enhancement that to recommending Teeth Whitening would be like suggesting they step onto an assembly line that will transform them into a hybrid of Frankenstein and Barbie(or Ken).  

Others automatically put Smile Enhancement into the same category as plastic surgery. Even for something as simple and non-invasive as Teeth Whitening, some would deem that crossing over the line on vanity and beauty obsession.

It's just whiter teeth. No big deal.

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Teeth Whitening Limitations

As good as Teeth Whitening may be, there are still certain limitations.

Teeth Whitening won't affect your old dentistry. If you have older bonding or porcelain work, those will not change colour and can look more unattractive as your teeth are whitened.

The perfect time to replace any older dentistry that shows is a few weeks after your whitening is completed. That way we can properly match up the colour.

We often use Teeth Whitening as a starting point for extensive cosmetic cases. That way the entire case can be done with a lighter shade of tooth colour.

Another limitation of Teeth Whitening is how white you can go. You can always expect an improvement. We just can't guarnatee spectacular results. Some smiles will go dramatically white, some less so.

If your teeth used to be whiter and the discolouration of your teeth is closer to the surface, your results will tend to be excellent.

If you have naturally dark teeth or deeper internal staining such as from tetracycline, your results probably won't be as dramatic. In those cases, we suggest you carry on Teeth Whitening for longer, or consider re-surfacing your teeth with Porcelain Veneers.

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