Although tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, it’s still vulnerable to staining. Over time, a love of coffee, wine, berries, tomato sauce, and other pigmented items can darken your smile. Simple aging is another cause of tooth discoloration. Fortunately, most of these stains aren’t permanent and can be corrected with bleaching treatments. If you want strong results with real staying power, though, professional treatment is far superior to DIY solutions—such as whitening toothpaste or strips. If you’re looking for a brighter smile, here are a few unique benefits that teeth whitening from a dentist can provide.

5 Advantages of Professional Teeth Whitening

1. Strengthens Self-Esteem

If you have yellow teeth, you may be more inclined to hide your smile—and lose your confidence in social situations. With professional teeth whitening, you won’t have a reason to keep your lips closed. Instead, you’ll flash your smile whenever you meet new people, give presentations, or take memorable photos.  

2. Brightens By Many Shades

Over-the-counter teeth whitening solutions can help maintain a smile that’s already bright but won’t typically brighten it by more than a shade. Professional treatments, on the other hand, utilize a stronger bleaching formula that allows dentists to enhance your tooth color by three shades or more.  

3. Requires Little Time Investment   

In addition to producing lackluster results, at-home bleaching solutions require several lengthy applications over a week or longer. When you’re searching for that instant enhancement, it’s much quicker to see a dentist for whitening. In most cases, professional treatment will produce results in under an hour.  

4. Extends Results

Although professional teeth whitening is completed in under an hour, you won’t have to worry about results fading fast. Depending on the patient’s aftercare practices, whitening will last anywhere from six to 12 months before a touch-up is needed.  

5. Minimizes Sensitivity

Bleaching compounds found in teeth whitening treatments can temporarily weaken the enamel and expose a sensitive layer of the tooth known as dentin. When dentin is exposed, you’ll be more likely to experience uncomfortable sensitivity, such as tingling in the teeth.

If you’re concerned about this issue, a dentist can adjust professional treatment to minimize these sensations. If you stick to at-home solutions, however, you’ll be more likely to overexpose your sensitive areas to these compounds.

Whether you need to improve the look of your smile or maintain your overall oral hygiene, Dr. Richard R. Miller Jr., DDS has the resources to enhance your dental health. Using advanced teeth whitening solutions, Dr. Miller will quickly and comfortably lift tough stains to give you a brighter appearance. If you’re due for a more intensive smile makeover, this Fairmount, GA, dentist offers many other state-of-the-art cosmetic services, such as tooth-colored fillings, veneers, crowns, and bridges. Contact the Fairmount office at (706) 337-3347 or the Summerville office at (706) 857-4741 to schedule an appointment. To learn more about these services, visit this family dentistry clinic online.