Looking for a quick way to improve your smile before senior prom or winter formal? Dr. Stuart Rimes is a board certified prosthodontist with the insight and expertise to help. A nationally recognized dentist with a practice in Sugar Land, Texas, Rimes has presented lectures on implant restorations and aesthetics to dentists all over the country.
If a teenager is looking to improve his smile just in time for prom, then my best advice would be to seeka dentist and look into getting a professional bleaching. If that is something you would be interested in, then I can almost guarantee you will see a great result.
By the time a boy or girl is a teenager in high school, he is definitely old enough for a professional in-office tooth bleaching if that is what he wants. And if he is specifically searching for something that can improve the brightness and whiteness of your smile, then there really is no better option. The reason I recommend bleaching so highly for teens is because they respond really well to it — even more so than adults in most cases. So that is why I can guarantee that teens will usually see such a dramatic, great result.
A few things that I do recommend, though, are that teens stay away from the deep, heavy, intense bleaching that some dentists might recommend. That type of technique or process is usually just too much — and not necessary — which is why some type of normal bleaching is much more like what I would recommend.
There are many techniques that dentists use when it comes to bleaching — from the standard laser whitening technique that most dentists use to the deeper, harder, more intense bleaching that can actually be too much for some people. Teens should avoid that; that is what I recommend.
One of the great things about bleaching (as opposed to other cosmetic treatments that might take multiple appointments to begin taking effect) is that patients can begin seeing a dramatic difference after just one appointment. Here at my practice, in fact, what we will often do is give our teen patients trays to take home. They can then use these trays to keep their teeth white for as long as they’d like.
So after a one-time appointment, the teens who come into my practice can keep their smile bright and white for months by diligently using the whitening trays we give them to use on their teeth at home.
As a rule of thumb, I recommend that any teen patient interested in bleaching as a pre-prom activity come in a couple of weeks before the prom for his bleaching appointment — a couple weeks or even more, actually. I advise that people give it a little time, even though the bleaching itself is a one-time appointment. But teen patients will also get trays that they can use at home anyway, so there is no need to wait until the day before prom to start the process. In fact, thanks to the trays, teens could theoretically come in and get the initial bleaching done at any time — January, February, etc. — and then just keep using the trays that we give them to keep their smile white throughout the months until prom. And with those trays, teens can get their smile as bright and white as they want them to be.
With so many other things to feel self-conscious about as a teen, there is no need to worry about the whiteness of your smile. For any teen interested in a prettier smile just in time for prom or another big event, I would definitely recommend visiting a dentist and finding out more about whether teeth whitening is an option.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
