There are many different ways to whiten your smile. They range from surgical dental procedures to special toothpastes. The most common ways of making your teeth brighter can be grouped into four categories- In-office dental procedures, take-home kits from your dentist, over-the-counter whitening kits, and whitening toothpastes. The costs and results of each vary greatly, and are dependant upon how much whitening you actually need or desire. Here are the estimated costs of each:
Dentists have various ways of helping you achieve a whiter smile. The costliest, by far, is porcelain veneers. These are shell-like cap put on your teeth to cover up discolorations or oddly-shaped teeth. Though these give you an almost permanent bright smile, the cost can be prohibitive, as much as $700-1200 per tooth. You might also need more than one visit before the procedure is complete, which would drive the final cost up even more. Bonding is a similar, less costly procedure that uses resin instead of porcelain and will set you back $300-500 per tooth.
Dentists can also use a very quick procedure that uses blue light or lasers to speed up and enhance the whitening power of peroxide, which is the main ingredient needed for brightening. Using this procedure, they can generally brighten by three to ten shades in about an hour’s time. The cost is from $500-1000 per visit, depending on how many treatments are needed. The results can last up to two years.
If you do not wish to use this technology, you can always request a home-whitening kit from your dentist. Though there are many cheaper over-the-counter kits, they generally have a peroxide concentration of 6% or less, whereas the kind from your dentist will be around 10 percent. Though this takes more time (1-2 hours per day for 7-10 days), it does cost less. The typical take-home kit is $300-750 dollars, which includes customized trays that are made from an imprint your dentist would take of your teeth. The customized plates ensure all of the peroxide gets into contact with every area of your teeth.
If visiting a dentist is not your thing, then the previously mentioned over-the-counter whitening kits might be for you. With regular use, these kits can be just as affective as the kind you would get from your dentist. Though there are a variety of kits, most are strips that you use for 20-30 minutes, twice a day. Since most need 14 days or more to achieve results, this means at least 28 total applications in a two week period for effectiveness. The cost is $18-45 dollars per kit. If this much commitment is a problem, there are also overnight whitening kits for about the same price. These need you to apply a gel to your teeth that hardens and dissolves overnight, so you don’t even have to rinse in the morning. They typically take 7-14 days for effectiveness. In each case, the whitening will last up to six months.
The final category in the booming tooth-whitening business is toothpastes. Costing a frugal $3-8 dollars a pop, they come in a variety of brands and flavors. These have peroxide and sometimes scouring agents within the paste, which help break down stains. With continued use over time, they can brighten your teeth. However, it could take several weeks or months to see a tangible difference. Also, if you smoke, drink teas, coffee or red wine this may not be very effective. Deep stains caused by these or other things require the peroxide to be in contact with your teeth longer than the amount of time usually spent brushing. But for the price, it is a great (albeit slow) alternative to a trip to the dentist.
Choosing which is right for you often depends on lifestyle and cost. Though the dental procedures take far less time than the home ones, these are considered to be cosmetic, and therefore are not usually covered by insurance. The at-home options are much more budget-friendly, but the time and inconvenience of wearing trays or strips might make it hard to finish the whole kit, therefore lessening the results. No matter which you choose, though, as long as you follow all directions, you will be well on your way to making your pearly whites a whole lot brighter.
