Professional Whitening vs At-Home Teeth Whitening Treatments

You have a plethora of options to choose from when it comes to getting rid of stains in your smile. Dental whitening treatments generally fall into two different categories: professional and at home treatments. While both work to whiten your smile, there are a few benefits to professional treatments that your dentist’s office can offer!

How Professional Whitening Treatments Work

Over the course of our lives, our teeth will acquire a few stains or become discolored from our diets, medication, trauma and a number of other reasons. Even aging can change the color of our teeth. Professional whitening treatments can reverse much of this damage and deliver a brighter, whiter smile you can be confident in. Professional whitening treatments are performed in a dental office. In-clinic whitening treatments use solutions that are stronger than over-the-counter options and customized to your individual needs. 

Affordability

Whitening your teeth at home can cost you anywhere from $15 strips to $150 whitening kits. Generally, the average kit will set you back about $50. With professional teeth whitening services, each dental office may charge a slightly different price; most will cost $300 or more. However, professional whitening services whiten and brighten your smile much faster than the most at home solutions. Since professional whitening treatments are performed by (you guessed it) the dental professionals, you’re more likely to get personalized, consistent results that work for your teeth.

Treatment Time 

A big advantage of professional whitening treatments is that you only need one appointment that lasts around 1-2 hours to leave your teeth up to 8 shades whiter. Using at-home kits may mean half hour whitening treatments every day for multiple days or weeks to only see a few shades difference. While a professional whitening may mean one slightly longer visit to your dentist’s office, you can count on more immediate, brilliant results.  

Lasting Power

To keep your teeth staying white after an at-home whitening treatment, you’re more than likely going to need to “treat” your teeth every fairly regularly. Teeth whitening treatments at your dentist’s office also include powerful whitening concentrations that penetrate deep below the surface of your teeth, meaning they stay whiter longer! As previously mentioned, an in-clinic whitening treatment allows for individualized treatments as your dentist will be able to recommend solutions to suit each patient’s needs. This is especially beneficial to patients who suffer from gum or tooth sensitivity as your dentist can often adjust the whitening formulas to help you achieve your smile goals. 

Teeth Whitening Professionals at Magnolia Dental

At-home whitening kits can definitely get the job done and whiten your teeth. Although, if you really want to see powerful results that give you a brighter smile, you may want to consider a professional whitening treatment from your dentist. At Magnolia Dental, we offer customized whitening treatments to help you get the results you want. Learn more about our teeth whitening treatments, or schedule your own appointment below!