How to Get Longer-Lasting Teeth Whitening Results?

I often am asked this question by patients interested in brightening their smile.  They want to know how quickly they will get results and how long those results will last and what their maintenance will be like.  I explain that tooth bleaching is exactly like working out with a personal trainer or just on your own.  It's unrealistic to think that you can eat junk food all day for years then go see a personal trainer and after one hour session, you'll have a rock hard body.  Predictable bleaching takes usually two weeks with one or two in office sessions if your teeth are darker especially.  Once you're whitened, avoiding staining foods (anything that would stain a white shirt applies here) will help prolong your results.  For long term color stability, I recommend that my patients whiten at home once every month or so for one night to maintain their color.  If they have habits that make their teeth stain faster (big coffee, tea, red wine drinkers or smokers), they may have to do maintenance a bit more often.  It is rare that anyone needs to come back in and go through the in office session again, if they are good about their own maintenance.

You can make your home teeth whitening (or any whitening including Deep Bleaching or Deep Whitening) last longer with a few simple steps. 

I see in my patients who stay their whitest, that they are doing a little bit of whitening very frequently. I would say one to two days every two weeks. You could consider even one day per week. This gradual constant re-whitening will help offset any of the stains that you naturally absorb into your teeth from your diet.

While you are having your teeth whitened in the dental chair a little bit of dehydration takes place and that makes the tooth look whiter. Once you resume normal activites there will be a rebound in the acquired shade. How long that shade last is directly related with your diet and home care . Avoiding staining foods and smoking during the first week helps maintain the color as well as permanent use of an electric toothbrush.

Bleaching strips either given by your dentist or purchased over the counter are a great and easy option for color maintenance