How Long Does Laser Teeth Whitening Last?

We all desire to have an impressive and dazzling smile, but it might be challenging to achieve this since our teeth get discolored over the years. When your smile loses its glow, it can affect your self-esteem. Your dental aesthetics will be affected, and you might seem to have aged.

But you shouldn’t walk around with a smile that dampens your spirit when we have laser teeth whitening near you. Laser teeth whitening offers a quick and effective solution to tooth discoloration. Your smile will move from mediocre to mind-blowing in just a few moments.

However, you might be wondering what happens after your smile is brighter. How long will the effects last? If this is plaguing your mind, let’s delve into laser teeth whitening to know more about it.

Laser Teeth Whitening 101

Your teeth will get stained for several reasons, including drinking colored drinks such as coffee, tea, and red wine. Certain foods like curries and berries can also stain your teeth. Aging is also another common reason for having discolored teeth. But the most notorious teeth-staining substance is tobacco. It has tar, which is brown, and nicotine, which is colorless, but it changes to yellow when exposed to oxygen.

Thankfully, our dentist in 92648 can remove these surface stains if you undergo laser teeth whitening. Laser teeth whitening, also known as laser teeth bleaching, uses lasers to enhance the effect of the bleaching agents applied to your teeth. This will produce a far more dramatic effect, leaving your teeth looking brighter than ever.

How Does It Work?

Laser teeth whitening is not the same as using teeth whitening strips that you can buy at your local store. It is performed in our office to ensure the procedure is done well and risk-free.

In-office laser teeth whitening is carried out within 30 and 60 minutes. The exact steps may vary since patients’ needs vary. However, a typical session will be carried out as follows:

• Our dentist will commence the procedure by placing a rubber prop in your mouth to keep it open
• Then, you will have to wear protective glasses to protect your eyes
• Our dentist will also place a protective barrier over your gums to ensure that the bleaching agent and the laser don’t harm your soft tissues
• Next, our dentist will apply the bleaching agent on the front surface of your teeth
• After a few minutes, our dentist will direct the laser on your teeth
• The laser will heat the bleach to activate its whitening properties
• After a few moments, your teeth will be whitened, so our dentist will remove the gum barrier and rinse out the bleaching agent

Are the Effects Permanent?

Unfortunately, they are not. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this was a one-time procedure? Even though laser teeth whitening is an effective treatment, it cannot fundamentally block stains from dulling your teeth. Therefore, you cannot expect the effects to last forever.

However, the irradiation of the hand-held laser machine can promote the complete opening of the tubules, enhancing the teeth’s permeability, thus increasing the whitening effect up to 27 times. Laser teeth whitening can alter two to four color levels.

Consequently, the effects can last anywhere between a few months to five years. The effects last much longer than most of the other treatments, such as whitening toothpaste and strips.

How long the whitening effects will last is also dependent on several factors, such as:

• The frequency of treatments
• The original color of your teeth
• Your lifestyle habits
• The lasers and bleaching agents used

If your desire is to get the most out of this procedure, then you will need three or four sessions.

How Can You Keep You Maintain Your Smile?

Once your smile has been transformed, you must maintain it daily. This is the only way you can prolong the whitening effects. As a rule of thumb, always know that anything that can stain a white t-shirt will stain your teeth.
So, you will need to change your oral habits to maintain these results. You will have to do the following:

• Limiting or avoiding teeth-staining foods and drinks such as coffee, red wine, etc.
• Limiting or quitting smoking tobacco
• Check your medication label to see if the side effects include teeth staining.
• Practice proper oral hygiene every day

The Takeaway

Laser teeth whitening is an effective way of whitening your teeth. However, the effects only last from a few months to five years and depend on other factors such as your lifestyle habits. If you need laser teeth whitening or have any concerns, contact us at Seascape Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry in Huntington Beach to schedule an appointment.