People's teeth tend to yellow as they get older

Teeth are naturally yellow to one degree or another.  

Fairer skinned people tend to have yellower teeth

Top teeth are yellower than most bottom teeth.

Yellowing is generally due to

The natural thickening of the yellow dentin in the tooth's insides as one ages.

Stains -- tea and tobacco are the worst offenders as far as stain goes.

How much whitening can I expect?

The amount of whitening varies from tooth to tooth and person to person.  

One to two shades of whitening is about average.  More whitening can generally achieved with yellower teeth.

Tooth shades normally come in ranges from 1 to 4.  

For the purposes of marketing whitening, some have expanded each shade into 4 mini- shades, with each shade change being barely visible to the human eye.  

So when you hear you can get "8 shades" lighter, that really means 8 mini-shades or 2 regular shades whiter -- which is still a pretty good amount of whitening.

The pros and cons

Some teeth discolorations can't be whitened effectively

Some fillings and crowns may lighten slightly.  

Most teeth will stay whitened for one or more years.

Some people's teeth can be made sensitive by the whitening process.

The amount of whitening varies from person to person.

You must have good home care when whitening your teeth.

Whitening the bacteria and plaque on unbrushed teeth isn't effective when it comes to whitening teeth

Teeth Whitening at home is available in two basic formats

Professional strength whitening strips

Only cover cuspid to cuspid.

Wear on the way to and from work. (30 minutes per treatment)

Have a very high patient approval rate, even though this is perhaps the least expensive bleaching treatment.

Custom Trays

Strong whitening effect, but with some potential side effects

Wear at night or for a couple hours a day.

Do the top first and then whiten the bottom to match to top.

Can do the top and bottom, or just the top.

Custom trays can be reused later -- if kept in good condition and no significant dental work is done.

We sell the bleaching material by the tube for folks looking to rewhiten.

Power Bleaching

Typically some sort of bright light or heat is used to speed up the bleaching process.

This is an office procedure with higher costs due to increased staff and chair time.

The bleaching systems use about the same materials as the Custom Tray bleaching