A bright, appealing smile is becoming an increasingly

One of these trends is the bright, celebrity-style, smile - with the beautiful white teeth showing forth. Some years ago, a laser session was an expensive process conducted only by a dentist. Nowadays, new options have emerged for most people. There is a significant decline in professional costs (which are still high), but there is also the option of Do-It-Yourself treatment for whitening one's teeth at a fractional cost. An individual has to balance the positive and negative aspects of these two main choices and choose accordingly what suits their own needs or wallet.

The process of Professional Teeth Whitening

The first step is for the dentist to assess the level of discolouration. Then the dentist will perform a first cleansing of the teeth, so that the whitening gel can be applied on clean teeth. Before the whitening treatment starts, a mould will be created for the mouth trays that will be used to apply the gel. This mould is customised to create trays that will fit precisely the individual's unique teeth shape.

Once the trays are created, a peroxide gel will be applied on the teeth. It may require a few visits before the work is complete, and it may also require the individual to perform self-maintenance through treatment at home. It typically requires at least 2 visits in order for the results of professional process to show up.

Home whitening kits that you can readily buy at a fraction of the cost provide comparable results with only a small percentage of the fees that a dentist requires. These kits work with a similar application of peroxide gel on your teeth and you will have to follow some simple instructions on how to do it.

The process of Laser Teeth Improvement

Whitening effects can be significantly improved through the use of a LASER light. The LASER interacts with the gel, increasing its potency and by association its whitening power. When a LASER light is applied, one session could theoretically be enough for most mild cases of discolored teeth although a few maintenance applications will be needed.

These applications will be done by the individual in their own home through kits.

In general, the process of gel application and LASER treatment can be repeated at home by anyone with a high quality whitening kit. However, there are cases when professional methods are unavoidable, for example when there are root fillings. In this case, an entirely different procedure is followed since such teeth have to be drilled before the bleaching agent is used. This is a process that cannot be done at home.