Teeth Whitening – Los Angeles, CA
A Convenient Way to Enhance Your Smile
Do you have a mild to severely discolored smile? Are you looking for a way to effectively remove stubborn stains from your teeth? Fortunately, our team at Rancho Park Dental Group can offer professional teeth whitening in Los Angeles to do just that! With either an at-home or in-office process, you’ll be able to enjoy a comfortable and reliable treatment that’ll help you achieve the beautiful pearly whites you deserve. During your initial consultation, we’ll walk you through your options and determine which works best for you. Keep reading or call us today to schedule your appointment.
Why Choose Rancho Park Dental Group for Teeth Whitening?
- Professional-Grade Bleaching Materials
- Completely Personalized & Effective Treatment
- Safe & Comfortable Cosmetic Process
Who Is a Good Candidate for Teeth Whitening?
Generally speaking, virtually any person who’s struggling with stains and discoloration in their smile can be eligible for professional teeth whitening. Even so, the best way to know if you’re a good candidate for this cosmetic service is by visiting our team for a consultation. During your appointment, we’ll go over your oral health and medical history before discussing your smile goals. Afterward, we’ll develop a personalized treatment plan to achieve the pearly whites you desire safely and efficiently.
How Does Teeth Whitening Work?
When first discussing your whitening treatment, our team will go into detail about the different ways to brighten your smile. Though they’re both capable of accomplishing dazzling results, they do come with some significant differences. Here’s what you can expect from our two whitening methods:
Take-Home Teeth Whitening
If you’d much prefer to undergo a teeth whitening treatment from the comfort of your home, then you’ll want to consider our take-home option. By using custom-made trays with professional-grade bleaching agents, you’ll be able to brighten your smile dramatically in just a couple of weeks. This typically involves filling the trays with special gel and wearing them for a certain period every day until you reach your desired results.
In-Office Teeth Whitening
Are you interested in brightening your teeth as soon as possible? If so, an in-office procedure may be your ideal solution. This process involves our team applying bleaching gel to your smile and using a unique curing light to blast away stubborn stains. After about an hour, you’ll be free to show off your enhanced teeth.
Tips for Maintaining Your Brighter Smile
While the results of teeth whitening are amazing, they won’t last forever. To make the most of your cosmetic treatment, you’ll want to maintain your newly brightened smile by sticking to the following tips:
- Reduce overexposing your teeth to dark-colored drinks and foods (like coffee and soda)
- Implement good oral hygiene (such as brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash)
- Refrain from bad oral habits like smoking and using your teeth as tools
- Schedule routine checkups and cleanings with your dentist
- Ask about at-home touch-ups to preserve your stain-free smile
Understanding the Cost of Teeth Whitening
We understand that even those who have their hearts set on achieving whiter grins will want to know what they can expect to pay before they commit to teeth whitening treatment. At Rancho Park Dental Group, we’ll be happy to provide you with a proper cost estimate after we discuss your goals and evaluate your oral health during your consultation. Here’s a brief guide to how teeth whitening treatments are priced at our office in Los Angeles, but please contact us online if you have any questions.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening treatments usually come at set prices, but certain factors can influence how many sessions you will need and if any preliminary procedures are required. These include:
- Severity: Especially stubborn stains and discoloration may require multiple treatments to lift.
- Nature of discoloration: Stains located on the surface of the tooth are easier to remove than those located inside the enamel. Discoloration may also be harder to resolve if it is caused by age or genetic factors.
- The patient’s oral health: We may have to resolve oral infections with restorative dental work or gum disease treatments before we can whiten your teeth. These procedures will be noted on your bill, but they may receive some insurance coverage if they confer health benefits.
Types of Teeth Whitening: What Do They Cost?
A person seeking a whiter smile has several options, and they come at different price points and levels of quality. These include:
- Professional in-office teeth whitening: This treatment usually costs between $400 and $800, but it may cost $1,000 or more in certain cases.
- Professional whitening kits: These top-quality take-home kits include professional-grade ingredients and can cost a few hundred dollars.
- Store-bought whitening kits: These usually cost $100 or less.
- Whitening strips or gels: These usually cost $20 to $40 for a two-week supply.
Cheap Teeth Whitening vs. Professional Teeth Whitening
When considering how cheap store-bought whitening products are, you may wonder why professional treatments are so popular. However, professional teeth whitening delivers a range of benefits that less costly options cannot match. For example, customized dental trays minimize the risks of gum injuries and inconsistent whitening results, and professional-grade whitening gel helps ensure amazing results in brief timeframes. Store-bought whitening kits, strips, and gels often deliver lackluster results even after prolonged use, and some users have sustained injuries due to poor quality. It’s always important to consider the results you can expect when deciding which whitening method is best for you.
Options for Making Teeth Whitening Affordable
Dental insurance does not usually cover teeth whitening since it is not considered medically necessary, but it may cover preliminary treatments like restorative work and gum disease treatments at least partially. To make treatments more affordable for our patients, we also partner with CareCredit, a trusted third-party financier that can break a patient’s bill into easy monthly installments. We’ll be happy to help you understand what your insurance will pay for and navigate your financing options during your consultation at our Los Angeles office.
Teeth Whitening FAQs
Does Teeth Whitening Hurt?
Rest assured, teeth whitening won’t cause you any discomfort. The treatment is smooth, easy, and comfy enough to feel painless.
The truth is that dentists tailor the whitening process to avoid aches and pains. By closely adjusting their bleaching gel, they keep the procedure from making your teeth sensitive. The result is that a whitening session shouldn’t make you feel much of anything.
All that said, please tell us if your teeth are prone to sensitivity. Our team will gladly share tips with you to prevent a painful treatment. In particular, we may suggest you space out your whitening sessions, avoid hot drinks, or use specialty toothpaste afterward.
Is Teeth Whitening Safe?
When done by a qualified dentist, teeth whitening is a very safe treatment. It won’t damage your smile or any other part of your body.
You see, teeth whitening is designed to only change your grin’s color. It limits the amount of bleaching gel used so treatment won’t have any negative side effects. For extra security, it also uses custom trays to keep the gel from spreading to your gums or being ingested. That means the whitening process will safely deliver the bright and white grin you want!
Does Teeth Whitening Work on Dental Crowns?
Sadly, teeth whitening – whether from a dentist or not- doesn’t work on dental crowns. The treatment only brightens the surface of your natural teeth; it can’t affect these special caps.
It all comes down to the bleaching gel used for teeth whitening. When applied to your smile, it enters your enamel through little holes that let it remove tooth stains. Meanwhile, dental crowns lack such holes and thus can’t be whitened by the gel.
Still, patients can find workarounds for the above issue. One option is to get a dental crown after an initial teeth whitening treatment. That way, the cap would match the color of your whole smile. Another idea is replacing an existing crown when your whitening session ends.
Is Professional Teeth Whitening Worth the Cost?
In the end, teeth whitening from a dentist is definitely worth the cost. Its many great benefits more than make up for the treatment’s initial expense.
For starters, many of the perks themselves are priceless. Who doesn’t love showing off a bright smile in vacation photos? Having the confidence to show your teeth to friends and family is also precious. All in all, your whiter grin will give you a high quality of life you can’t attach a dollar amount to.
Of course, teeth whitening is a great long-term investment as well. Whiter teeth allow for better first impressions, which can help you achieve career success over time. The right pearly whites can decide whether you ace a job interview or get the raise you want.