Laser Whitening.

People have become quite negligent about their teeth due to the hectic life style of the current time. It is difficult to find time for a visit to a dentist unless absolutely required. As a result, teeth get stained and discolored. Bacteria, germs and food particles get accumulated thus forming a thin layer over the white enamel resulting in the discoloration of your teeth. The caffeine from the coffee, or from any other cola beverages, is also harmful for your teeth. The situation gets worse for people who are addicted to chewing tobacco and smoking. The answer to this is teeth whitening. There are many ways by which teeth whitening is carried out. Some are home remedies while others have to be done by going to a dental care centre and visiting a dentist. They are called ‘in-office’ procedures. One such in-office procedure is Laser whitening. Laser whitening is a new technology that is used to bring back the whiteness to your teeth so that you have a new, fresh and bright smile. Since this is quite an advanced technique, it should be done only at reputed clinics and by professional dentists.

There are a few steps followed when Laser whitening is done. They are –

1. At first, a snap is taken of the present condition of the patient’s teeth. This will be later used to compare and see the change that they have undergone. It is used as a confidence booster mostly, as people want to see a significant change after spending quite a bit of money on the entire treatment.

2. Next, the dentist cleans whatever residue is present on the teeth. This is done to make the surface of the patient’s teeth smoother. Compounds are used to get rid of obvious stains and particles that might be present.

3. The teeth on which Laser whitening will be done are then isolated. This is achieved by placing a rubber contraption known as the ‘dental dam’ around the patient’s lips so that their cheek and jaw do not get in the way.

4. Since laser light is going to be used, the doctor and well as the patient have to wear protective eye glasses. A bib is also provided to the patient to avoid spilling of the gel. After this is done, the actual process begins.

5. A white paste made of peroxide compounds is applied on the exposed teeth. This paste is known as the ‘whitening gel’.

6. Next, the laser light is switched on and is directed towards the gel covered teeth of the patient. The crystals present in the teeth are activated by the light incident on them, they absorb the energy and as a result, the light is able to penetrate to the teeth giving them a lightening effect. Doing this repeatedly results in bright white teeth!

Laser whitening is now widely used as it takes only an hour for the entire treatment. However, this treatment is quite expensive, ranging from 400 USD to 900 USD, and hence, cannot be afforded by all. This is the only disadvantage it has. Otherwise, this state-of-the-art Laser whitening technology has become very famous and people are taking the trouble to loosen their purse strings for a brighter and whiter smile!