Teeth Whitening – Baytown, TX

Who is a Good Candidate for Teeth Whitening?

To determine whether professional teeth whitening is a good option for you, we’ll need to consider:

• The underlying cause of your dental discoloration.
• The current state of your dental health.
• The specific goals you have for improving your smile.

We’ll need to carefully examine your mouth and review your overall health history before we can make any recommendations. If we find that you are a good candidate for teeth whitening, we can work with you to create a treatment plan that takes your unique needs into account.

How Does Teeth Whitening Work?

In-office and take-home teeth whitening involve different steps, but they can both yield dazzling results. Here are the basics of what you need to know about our two whitening options:

Take-Home Teeth Whitening

With a take-home whitening kit, you can brighten your smile while relaxing at home. Our whitening kits contain a powerful bleaching gel and customized whitening trays. You simply need to fill the trays with the gel and wear them for a set amount of time each day. After about two weeks, you’ll notice a significant difference in the brightness of your smile.

In-Office Teeth Whitening

During an in-office whitening treatment, a powerful bleaching gel is applied to your teeth in order to get rid of the stains that have been bothering you. The procedure is relatively quick and can often be completed in less than an hour; this makes it an excellent option for those who want to quickly whiten their smiles for an upcoming event.  

Tips for Maintaining Your Brighter Smile

It’s only natural to want to do everything you can to make sure that the results of your teeth whitening treatment last as long as possible. As such, here are some tips that can keep your smile looking bright in the long term:

• Be careful about what you eat or drink. Dark-colored foods and beverages such as coffee, soda, tomato sauce, and blueberries could easily cause new stains to appear on your teeth.
• Keep your smile clean. Brushing at least twice a day can go a long way toward protecting your enamel from surface stains.
• Visit your dentist twice a year. They can clean and polish your teeth in order to keep them looking their best.

Understanding the Cost of Teeth Whitening 

If you’re considering brightening your smile, you may be curious about the cost of teeth whitening in Baytown. After all, if you don’t know the price, how can you tell if it fits your budget? However, because each treatment is completely customizable, it is difficult to quote a one-size-fits-all price. That’s why it’s so important to visit Dr. Seif for a consultation first. At this appointment, he’ll review your oral health and develop a treatment plan to get you the results you want within the timeframe you need, as well as the total cost. Until then, feel free to read more about how he’ll determine the price once your teeth have been examined.

Factors that Affect the Cost of Teeth Whitening

Although professional teeth whitening is usually one set price, there are several factors that may influence how many treatments you’ll need until you reach your desired results, including:

• How severe your stains and discoloration are.
• The types of discoloration present, such as age, medication, or diet related, and whether they’re intrinsic (located within the enamel) or extrinsic (on the surface of the enamel).
• Whether you’ll need any preliminary procedures like fillings or crowns.

Types of Teeth Whitening: What Do They Cost? 

• In-office whitening from your dentist typically ranges in price from $400 to $800, however in some rare cases it may exceed $1,000 depending on the severity of the stains.
• Take-home whitening kits with custom-fit trays from your dentist typically cost a few hundred dollars.
• Over-the-counter whitening trays that are not custom fit typically cost $100 or less.
• The cheapest option by far is those whitening strips and gels which can be purchased at most stores. Strips typically cost $20 to $40 a box and usually contain enough strips to treat your teeth for up to two weeks.

Inexpensive Teeth Whitening Vs. Professional Teeth Whitening 

Now, if you’re only looking at the numbers, you may be wondering why professional whitening is so popular when it’s clearly more expensive. However, it’s important to remember when it comes to cosmetic dentistry that the quality of the work is clearly reflected in the price.

When you use those “cheaper” strips or gels, it can be difficult to see any results, especially with more severe discoloration.  Professional treatments were specifically designed to lighten the tooth enamel by multiple shades in much faster timeframes than storebought kits. In fact, for in-office care you can achieve results in as little as one hour-long visit, and in about two weeks with a professional take-home kit, but most patients see results much sooner!

Ultimately, when it comes to considering your whitening options, it’s important to factor in the kind of results you want and how quickly you want them, not just the price tag.

Options For Making Teeth Whitening Affordable

Because teeth whitening is considered a cosmetic procedure, most traditional dental insurance plans will not cover it. However, at Baytown Gentle Dental, we are proud to welcome payment plans from our preferred third-party lenders, CareCredit and Lending Club. These programs allow patients to break up the cost of their treatment into multiple, low-to-no interest monthly payments that may be better suited to their budget. You can apply for these programs on our website or call us today for more information.

At Baytown Gentle Dental, Dr. Seif and the team are ready to assist you with your teeth whitening treatment. To learn more about the financial details, schedule your consultation today.