Smiling About Summer

Can you believe it’s already the month of June? Bring on the sunshine and flip flops! Also bring on wedding season, graduations, and spending time outside by the beach or pool. Just a friendly reminder, wear your SPF! Reapply often and don’t forget to put some on your ears; a common spot forgotten and prone to skin cancer. Use Chap Stick with SPF also so that your lips are protected and moisturized. Our lips are the first line of defense with protecting our teeth and they can become cracked, dry, and develop cancerous lesions. Skin cancer is becoming more and more common and can be very dangerous. Plus, sunburns are not fun! Tans on the other hand, could look really nice after a rough Chicago winter. What else looks nice, especially with a glowing tan? White teeth.

Summer could be busy with many events and holidays. Why not boost that great smile of yours! There are many ways to whiten, but the most effective and safe way to do it is through a dental professional. Stores sell over-the-counter whitening strips, mouth rinses, and toothpastes, which may not be approved or effective. The results are not as pleasing either. They usually have a low amount of whitening agent and take a while to see results. You will also want to see if you are a candidate for whitening. Filling materials, crowns, dentures, and implants will not change in shade. Also, recession (receded gums with root structure showing) areas can be very sensitive. We can go over ways to strengthen those areas to reduce the amount of sensitivity before you start whitening.

Here at Living Well Dental Group, we make custom trays that fit your teeth perfectly and give you the tube of whitening solution to take home. The custom trays allow the whitening solution to spread and contact all the teeth whereas whitening strips from the store, are most likely missing tooth surfaces. We have 5 surfaces to each tooth. Whitening strips only take care of the front side. Custom trays that we make, allow the whitening to spread to all 5 surfaces giving your whole tooth an overall boost.

We would take impressions (models) of your teeth, find your starting shade, and make the trays out of a soft, clear material. We will then have you come back to deliver the trays and whitening gel. We will show you how to fill them, wear them, prevent sensitivity, and other further instructions. The best time to start professional whitening would be right after a good cleaning. The teeth will be free of tartar and some extrinsic stain would be removed so that the whitening can be fully absorbed.

Thinking of trying it out? Well we have some great news! We have a Whitening Special for the month of June! Originally for $400, we are taking 75% off! For $99 we will take your impressions, make your custom trays and give you 2 tubes of whitening! Now that is something to smile about! For any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us! We are looking forward to brightening up your smile!