How to Get a Professional Tooth Whitening in Los Angeles

If you live in Los Angeles, chances are you're thinking of having your teeth whitened. Seems like everyone is doing it, whether to keep up with those in Hollywood or the magazines, or because they've heard of their friends who have done it, it is only a matter of time before everyone in Los Angeles has a professional tooth whitening done.

You can't go anywhere, watch TV, or listen to the radio these days without seeing a billboard or hearing a commercial for professional tooth whitening. Los Angeles, in particular, seems to be a tooth whitening capital of the world, for as much as it is promoted.

How to Choose What Kind of Professional Tooth Whitening to Get

There are several options when shopping for a place to get a professional tooth whitening in Los Angeles. You need to decide which type of tooth whitening you want to have done. Most expensive, but also fastest, is to have a laser tooth whitening. This must be done by a cosmetic dentist, in their office, using their high-powered dental laser. It is very effective at getting even stains deep within the tooth.

The mouth is protected by putting in place a gel or mouthguard that will keep the chemicals from hurting the sensitive parts of the mouth - the tissues and gums. Then the laser is aimed at a few teeth at a time. The teeth are only lasered for about 15 seconds at a time, and in total, each tooth gets from 2 to 4 minutes of laser treatment.

All told, a treatment will only take about 24 minutes, and including the pre- and post-treatment necessities, your visit to the dentist will last about an hour. This is definitely the fasted choice, but it is also the most expensive. It is hundreds of dollars for each arch; a full mouth can cost more than six hundred dollars. Many people in Los Angeles opt for professional tooth whitening done exactly this way.

Less expensive, but still a viable option, is bleaching done in a dentist's office. For this, you can go to your regular dentist (assuming he does tooth whitening). It doesn't need to be done by a cosmetic dentist. The dentist, after getting you comfortable in his chair, will make a special mold of your teeth. This is done to create trays that your teeth will rest in while the chemicals are on your teeth.

Because the dentist makes the trays directly from your mouth, the trays fit better and there is less chance of leakage of the chemicals, so less chance of irritation from the chemicals. Often, it takes more than one bleaching treatment, so the dentist will send you home with the custom-made trays and the chemicals to use for anyone in Los Angeles to have professional tooth whitening. He or she will want repeat visits so that he can monitor the process, see if it is progressing as expected, and that you aren't having problems with sores and irritations from the chemicals.