How much do professional teeth whitening treatments cost? / What kind of whitening results can you expect?
How much can the professional teeth whitening treatments provided by a dentist cost?
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$400 to $900
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As with any elective cosmetic procedure where the nature of the perceived value of the treatment is often very subjective, you can expect that the prices quoted for professional teeth whitening services will vary widely between dental offices. In some offices, in some localities, the fee for in-office whitening will no doubt exceed our high-end estimate by a significant margin.
Some dentists feel that their in-office bleaching treatments should be followed up with the use of an at-home whitener. If so, you can expect that there will be an additional cost for this additional treatment.
A patient's costs might lie at the lower end of the price range stated above in those instances where a significant portion of the treatment process is performed by a staff member rather than solely the dentist. As another consideration, those dentists who incorporate an "activation" light or laser into the whitening process will have higher equipment costs than those who don't. These dentists will need to charge a relatively higher fee for their whitening treatments.
What kind of whitening result can be expected with professional teeth whitening treatments?
There is no question that in the majority of cases teeth whitening treatments utilizing a peroxide-based bleaching agent will produce results. As we stated previously however, the level of whitening obtained from the professional bleaching treatments that your dentist performs is on par and similar in nature to those results you could achieve with a tray-based at-home teeth whitening system. The big advantage of professional whitening treatments is not the degree of lightening but the fact that you will experience the whitening effect immediately.
How many professional whitening treatments will a person need?
Sometimes dentists and/or the manufacturers of professional teeth whitening products advertise their systems as "one visit, one hour teeth whitening." We will agree that one hour of professional in-office teeth bleaching treatment should be expected to provide a color change for a person's teeth.
| The other side of this discussion is to state that it has been reported in dental literature that the average number of professional teeth whitening treatments needed to "make patients happy" is three. While whitening results were seen after a single visit, it typically took between two to six in-office bleaching appointments to reach "maximum whiteness."
When determining if professional teeth bleaching treatments are the best whitening option for you, you should take into consideration that more than one whitening treatment might be needed. These extra appointments will require further time commitment and cost on your part. |
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About the dehydration effect (lightening effect) that can be associated with professional teeth whiteners.
When teeth are kept dry for an extended period of time (even as little as 30 to 60 minutes) they can become desiccated. As this dehydration effect takes place the color of the tooth tends to become lighter. While most people are unaware of this phenomenon dentists certainly have a familiarity with it. This is why when a dentist places a white filling they will choose the color of filling material before they begin the actual treatment process.
Once a desiccated tooth is exposed to moisture again (saliva) the tooth will begin to rehydrate. As this process takes place the tooth will return to its normal, somewhat darker shade. This rehydration process can take several days. Depending on the severity of the dehydration effect, possibly as many as three or more.
This means that when a non-hydrous bleaching compound is used that at least a portion of the teeth whitening effect that is seen immediately after the whitening treatment has been completed is not a true color change. Instead it is a temporary lightening effect solely due to the fact that the teeth are dehydrated. This component of the apparent color change of the teeth will relapse over the next few days.
Now under no circumstances are we implying that professional teeth whitening treatments, even with non-hydrated bleaching agents, do not work. That is not the case. The peroxide compounds used with in-office teeth whitening absolutely have the ability to make color changes with teeth. Instead our point is that in this type of instance the dramatic color change noticed immediately after the bleaching treatment has been performed is possibly not as profound as you (or your dentist) might like to think. We would say that a true "before and after" shade comparison can only be made if the "after" evaluation is made some days after your whitening treatment was performed.
Why are some professional teeth whitening systems followed up with an at-home whitener as well?
The protocol for some professional teeth whitening systems includes both in-office and at-home whitening treatments. Now, as an explanation for this take a look at some of the things we have mentioned on this page:
Some of the immediate tooth color change achieved by professional teeth whitening treatments may actually be due to a dehydration effect.
- It can often take between two and six in-office bleaching treatments before a patient is satisfied with the level of whitening that has been achieved.
It seems to us that this information can provide a rationale for the use of a combination of in-office and at-home whitening treatments.
The dentist and whitening product manufacturer are relying on the in-office bleaching treatment to provide a quick and noticeable color change. The at-home teeth whitening treatments the patient performs on their own helps to compensate for the short-term color relapse due to the loss of the tooth dehydration effect. Additionally, the at-home treatments help to take the maximum whitening effect possible for that person by using peroxide-based whiteners to its endpoint.
Another factor that can play a role in determining if at-home treatment will be needed is as follows...
Professional teeth whitening treatments are characteristically performed on those teeth toward the front of a person's mouth. An important step associated with the safety of professional teeth whitening treatments is that the dentist isolates the teeth being bleached so that the whitener does not come into contact with the patient's soft tissues (gums, cheeks, and lips). This isolation is more difficult to achieve with back teeth than with front teeth and this can be one reason why back teeth may not be treated during professional teeth whitening sessions.
There can be instances where a person's back teeth (especially their upper molars) do show prominently when they smile yet these teeth have not included in the professional whitening treatment. If this is the case, the overall appearance of the patient's smile may not meet their expectations. Following the in-office whitening process with an at-home teeth whitening system can provide a means by which to lighten the back teeth so their color blends in and matches more closely with the new shade of the anterior teeth. You will need to ask your dentist if there is an additional cost for any at-home teeth whitening products that are used.
