The short version
- Cheapest cosmetic treatment there is, and nothing about the tooth is altered.
- One appointment of about an hour, with the result visible the same day.
- Not permanent. Maintenance is part of the treatment.
- Sensitivity affects some patients, which is why supervision matters.
- Useless on restorations and poor on gray or brown discoloration.
- Alters the tooth
- No
- Appointment
- About 1 hour
- Permanent
- No
- Works on crowns
- No
Staining is the most common complaint people have about their teeth, and the usual diet does not help: sugar, coffee, tea, red wine. Whitening corrects it. Here is what it is good at and where it stops.
The case for whitening
It is the cheapest way to change how teeth look. Nothing else in cosmetic dentistry changes appearance this much for this little.
Nothing is permanently altered. This is the underrated part. Veneers remove enamel that does not grow back. Crowns reshape the whole tooth. Whitening removes nothing and commits you to nothing, which makes it the only genuinely reversible option on the list. If you dislike the result, it fades.
It is one appointment. About an hour, result visible the same day. What that hour involves is in in-office teeth whitening.
It is the right answer when alignment is fine. Well-aligned teeth, free of cracks and gaps, that have simply darkened. Whitening does the job and anything more is spending more to fix less.
The case against
Sensitivity affects some patients. The whitening agent causes it and it usually settles within a day. Patients whose teeth are already sensitive notice it most, and that is the strongest argument for professional treatment over a kit: someone is watching how your teeth respond and can adjust.
It is not permanent. Keep drinking coffee and red wine and the stain returns. Maintenance treatments keep the result, and anyone wanting to whiten once and never think about it again is describing porcelain veneers rather than whitening.
It does not work on everything. Restorations keep their original shade permanently. Brown and gray discoloration responds poorly. Teeth discolored by trauma or medication generally do not respond at all. The full list is in in-office teeth whitening.
It cannot fix one tooth. Whitening lightens everything it reaches, so a single dark tooth stays proportionally dark.
Whitening or veneers
The short version: whitening changes color, veneers change color and shape.
| Whitening | Veneers | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes color | Yes | Yes |
| Changes shape | No | Yes |
| Alters the tooth | No | Permanently |
| Cost | Lowest | Significant |
| Permanent | No | Yes, then replacement |
If the teeth are straight and sound and the problem is that they have darkened, whitening is cheaper, faster and reversible. If there are gaps, chips or uneven edges as well, whitening leaves you with whiter versions of the same teeth.
The longer comparison is in whitening or veneers.
What to do about it
Most people do not settle this alone, and they should not have to. Dr. Back examines the teeth and says which treatment they call for, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
Sarasota Smile Design is on Clark Road in Sarasota, close to Nokomis, Osprey and Venice, open Monday to Thursday.
Call 941-927-5411, or see teeth whitening.
