The Dawn of the Smile You’ve Dreamed of with Professional Teeth Whitening

A stunning smile starts with gleaming white teeth. Southern Pine Dental in Dothan, Alabama, offers professional teeth whitening to enhance the appearance of lackluster teeth by removing stains locked in your enamel. Our teeth whitening differs from store-bought whitening products because it doesn’t remove surface stains only — it removes deep discoloration accumulated over the years to make your smile look years younger.

Have years of tooth staining? This is how teeth bleaching works

The outer coating of your teeth — the enamel— is made of a crystalline porous structure that absorbs stains over time. These stains can be removed with a toothbrush or dental floss if they are superficial. However, stains from smoking, some medications, and stain-causing foods like coffee, wine, and soda penetrate deep into your enamel, and regular dental care can only do so much to remove them.

In order to effectively remove stains from your enamel, the use of a bleaching agent is necessary. Hydrogen peroxide-based whitening gels can penetrate the enamel and break down stains through an oxidation reaction, much like how detergents remove stains from clothing.

Our teeth whitening options

Although teeth bleaching removes tooth stains, not all teeth whitening methods work. You must have encountered store-bought products promising over-the-moon results at a fraction of the cost. Avoid these products because they rarely live up to their hype. Instead, opt for tried and tested teeth whitening offered by trained dentists.

At Southern Pine Dental, Dr. Durwood A. Nowell offers two types of professional teeth whitening.

• In-office teeth whitening: One of the fastest ways to rejuvenate your smile is through chairside teeth whitening. This treatment delivers a white, bright smile in just over an hour! We always start the treatment with a consultation to evaluate your dental health and determine whether teeth whitening can achieve your smile goals. If yes, we polish your teeth, isolate them with a protective barrier, and carefully apply whitening gel over them. We may activate the bleaching agent with a special light and wait for about 15 minutes for the gel to work. Depending on the shade you want, we may repeat this step 3-4 times. 
• At-home teeth whitening: Here, we take molds of your teeth to design customized take-home whitening trays. Your trays are hand-crafted only to fit your smile, which provides a superior fit and consistent delivery of the bleaching agent to all surfaces of your teeth. You should wear your whitening trays for about 30 minutes daily; results will be evident after about two weeks.

Time to get rid of that tired smile with professional teeth whitening from Southern Pine Dental in Dothan, AL. To get started, please call (334) 794-0348 to request a smile assessment appointment with Dr. Durwood A. Nowell.