Teeth Whitening Results
Custom Tray Teeth Whitening (Bleaching) Instructions
Only a minimal amount of bleaching gel is necessary to effectively whiten your teeth. The ideal bleaching gel solution is carbamide peroxide which allows for a slow release of active ingredient to whiten your teeth for many hours. Carbamide peroxide can be worn all night in your custom tray and still have active ingredient leftover, so the best way to get results is to wear your tray to bed for 7-10 hours. The safest and best percentage of carbamide peroxide gel is 10% because it has been studied extensively and shown to produce results with no long-term side-effects. During treatment, sensitivity which lasts briefly is normal.
Step By Step Guide for Application of Bleaching Gel
- Make sure your custom tray is clean from previous use. Never use hot water when cleaning your tray because it will warp the plastic. The best way to clean the whitening gel out of your trays is to use qtips and room temperature water.
- With clean trays prepared, apply a minimal bead sized amount of whitening gel to the front surface of each tooth you will be whitening. The bead is applied in the middle of each tooth and only on the front surface. Applying more gel, or adding gel to the back surface of the teeth will only waste your gel while not improving results. Important: Whiten each tooth up to and including the first molar so that there is no visible change in teeth shade when smiling. Skip any teeth which you have been instructed to avoid, such as crowns.
- Gently insert the loaded custom tray into your mouth and seat completely over your teeth.
- Use a finger to gently press against the front surface of your teeth to adapt the tray.
- Run a finger along your gumline to remove any bleaching gel that may have squeezed out during the previous steps.
- Go to bed.
- When you wake up in the morning, remove the trays and brush your teeth as usual. Clean your trays as described in step 1.
Schedule:
- Start by wearing your trays nightly.
- If sensitivity is tolerable, continue wearing trays nightly.
- When sensitivity becomes uncomfortable, take 1 night off. Sometimes 2 nights on, 1 night off works well.
- If you have any concerns about your treatment, see your dentist for evaluation