At the Charleston, SC dentist office of Dr. R. Edward Hudgens, we are excited to offer our patients professional teeth whitening solutions. Dental discoloration is a common dental concern that many of us will experience. This is because common foods and beverages contain harmful staining agents that impact our tooth enamel when frequently consumed. Over time, these staining agents build up on your teeth, making them appear yellow or dull.
With our professional teeth whitening options, we can often remove years’ worth of staining agents from your smile to reveal a brighter and whiter result. Learn more about our professional teeth whitening options below.
WHAT CAUSES TOOTH DISCOLORATION?
Many different things cause tooth discoloration. Age and lifestyle habits discolor your teeth over time. If you smoke, frequently drink coffee or tea, or eat and drink darker beverages, you’ll experience more tooth discoloration than someone that doesn’t do these things. If you had braces and didn’t clean around them properly, you may have marks where the braces were. All of these things can be treated with professional teeth whitening solutions.
However, there are deeper causes of discoloration, too. If there’s an infection in your tooth or it’s gray and “dead” from experiencing trauma, tooth whitening won’t work in these cases. This is also true if you have deep staining from certain medications you took during childhood development.
We’ll do a complete oral exam and consultation before moving forward with the right tooth-whitening solution for you. If you have stains that professional teeth whitening can’t take care of, we’ll offer other options. Porcelain veneers are thing shells of dental ceramic that cover the front and sides of your tooth. Dental bonding is also available as it’s malleable and we can mold it to the exact shape of your tooth.
TEETH WHITENING IN CHARLESTON, SC
Dr. Hudgens is an experienced cosmetic dentist in Charleston, SC. He has helped many patients suffering from dental discoloration to whiten and brighten their smiles again using our professional teeth whitening services. Patients can choose between the following teeth whitening options:
IN-OFFICE WHITENING SESSIONS
Our office uses Zoom! whitening products to facilitate our in-office whitening sessions. Completed in one appointment, patients who choose in-office whitening sessions will be monitored by our dental professionals every step of the way. In-office whitening is ideal if you need a brighter smile quickly, like if you have an important event coming up. In-office whitening brightens your teeth by up to eight shades in just one visit to our office.
We protect your gums and soft tissues so that they don’t come into contact with the bleaching agent. The dentist applies bleaching gel to your teeth, taking care to ensure the distribution is even. An ultraviolet light is then held over your teeth and activates the bleaching agent in the gel. We may do this process multiple times in one session, depending on your cosmetic goals.
TAKE-HOME WHITENING KITS
Take-home whitening kits are a more gradual form of teeth whitening that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Instead of a one-hour session in our office, you’ll wear custom whitening trays for a certain number of hours over multiple weeks. These numbers depend on your goals and the shade of white you want your teeth to be.
You’ll come into our office to get impressions so that we can custom-make whitening trays to fit your smile. This ensures they fit snugly, with no gaps, and evenly distribute the professional-grade whitening gel on your teeth. Custom trays also keep out saliva and ensure the process goes smoothly.
Schedule An Appointment
Do you suffer from dental discoloration? Are you ready to whiten and brighten your smile? If so, schedule an appointment with the Charleston, SC dentist office of Dr. R. Edward Hudgens. We look forward to seeing you soon.