Cosmetics to Enhance Your Teeth’s Whiteness

If you feel your career needs a boost or if you want more confidence in your social life, you may turn to teeth whitening in Asheville. It’s an increasingly popular choice. While it’s generally considered a very safe dental procedure, you can find a variety of cosmetic dentistry products to use to whiten your teeth by yourself.

Taking Your Dentist Home

Teeth whitening in Asheville is often done in the dentist’s office, but some people don’t want to sit for the whole procedure. If this describes you, your dentist can create a special take home product for you.

The most popular is the custom mouthpiece. Your dentist takes a cast of your teeth and uses it to create a mouthpiece that fits your teeth perfectly. To use it, you fill the mouthpiece with a whitening agent and wear it a few hours a day, according to instructions from your dentist. The whitening agent isn’t as strong as the one used in the office, but it can be effective over a few weeks, especially if the mouthpiece fits snugly.

Whitening Toothpastes

You’ve likely seen plenty of commercials for toothpastes that are supposed to give you a radiant smile. This has become another popular method for teeth whitening in Asheville. Although the results from using these products are often exaggerated, they can still improve the color of your teeth, and in some cases, that might be all you need.

Professional teeth whitening in Asheville involves a bleaching agent that actually changes the color of your teeth. By contrast, whitening toothpastes contain polishing agents. While these products can remove surface-level stains, they can’t change the actual color of your teeth.

Whitening Strips

You can achieve teeth whitening in Asheville by applying whitening strips. These over-the-counter products contain a bleaching agent to whiten teeth and an adhesive to stick to them. Although you can find mouthwashes containing similar ingredients, the strips work better because they remain in contact with your teeth for much greater lengths of time.

People who have used whitening strips frequently report that they have seen quick results. Although they are more powerful than whitening toothpastes, strips are safe when used correctly. They are also relatively inexpensive.

Whitening Pens

Whitening pens are among the lesser-known options for teeth whitening in Asheville. Whitening pens are exactly what they sound like — small plastic tubes that allow you to apply whitener directly to a precise surface area. Most whitening pens contain the bleaching agent peroxide.

The advantage of using a whitening pen is that you can target specific spots rather than treating all of your teeth at once. You can use them for special occasions or for a singular purpose. For example, if your teeth are temporarily discolored from drinking wine or coffee and you have an important function where you want to flash a bright smile, this is your best option. As always, good dental care, a healthy diet, and regular visits to the dentist are the best way to care for your teeth’s appearance.


—Dr. Perry Stamatiades