The Niveous™ teeth whitening system.
The Niveous™ system is Shofu Dental Corporation's professional teeth whitening product.
This is one of those in-office systems where the manufacturer considers the use of a bleaching light to be optional. (Which we think is a very realistic attitude.)
What type of whitener is used?
The whitening gel used with the Niveous™ system is hydrogen peroxide-based. It comes prepackaged and ready for use.
This gel has a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 25% (which is at the lower end of the scale for professional products) and a pH of 7 (neutral pH). (More about the characteristics of professional teeth whiteners...)
A unique feature of the Niveous™ system is that the applicator brush (the disposable tool that comes with each kit that is used to apply the whitener to the patient's teeth) is impregnated with an activator (an agent that boosts the whitener's effectiveness).
Is a bleaching light used?
Shofu states that using a bleaching light with their system is an optional, as opposed to mandatory, step.
If the dentist performing the whitening treatment chooses to use a light, then Shofu Dental considers the output of a standard "curing" light to be appropriate.
(Curing lights are those units that a dentist uses to set dental composite (dental bonding). The output of these units is usually a blue to blue-green colored light.)
Not all research confirms that a bleaching light needs to be used. We are of this opinion, follow this link to learn more.
During the whitening process it's important that the patient's teeth don't become over heated. If no light is used, then there isn't really a chance of this.
In the case that a light is used, curing units have a designed where they can only shine on one or two teeth at a time. Because of this, during the whitening process the dentist will need to constantly move the light from one tooth to another (so each one gets the proper exposure). Because the light is constantly being repositioned, it seems unlikely that a heating effect will be created.
If a dentist does choose to use a light when they perform Niveous™ treatments, it will be one that they are already own and already use in conjunction with other dental procedures. Since there will be nothing new or extra to purchase, their expenses will be comparatively lower than with other professional whitening systems. Hopefully this savings can be shared with their patient too.
How long do treatments take?
You can expect that a Niveous™ teeth whitening treatment will take about an hour to complete.
Each bleaching appointment is broken up into two separate applications of the whitener. Each application is then left in place for 15 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes of exposure. However, preparations and post-treatment wrap-up will typically round the appointment's total time up to right about an hour.
Are at-home follow-up treatments recommended?
Shofu Dental doesn't make a recommendation about the need for at-home treatments, with the exception of suggesting that it should be left up to the discretion of the dentist performing the treatments. (Why follow-up treatments are used.)
The whitening procedure.
We outline the usual steps of in-office teeth whitening here. You can expect that Niveous™ treatments will take the same format.
As you read through the above procedure description, take note of the fact that with the Niveous™ system a paint-on dental dam is typically used, the "activation" of the whitening gel with a bleaching light is considered to be optional, as are continued teeth whitening treatments performed at home.
