The Next Generation in Whitening: Something New to Smile About
What do most of your patients ask for when they come to your office? Whiter and brighter teeth! While they may have active caries, bleeding gingiva and other oral health issues, their main request is for whiter teeth. A nice, shiny pearly white smile is a beautiful image signifying youth, health, friendliness, wealth, and well-being. With all the online meetings we have been attending, our patients are looking at their smile more than before.
Wanting whiter teeth is not a new phenomenon. As much as 4000 years ago, there is evidence that Egyptians and ancient Romans used abrasives such as ash and pumice along with ammonia from human urine (yes, it is true) to whiten teeth.1 Fortunately, we evolved our whitening protocol. In the late 1960s, a carbamide peroxide gel marketed for gingival healing proved to also whiten teeth.2 And this started our whitening innovation.
There are drawbacks to whitening. Depending on how discolored the teeth are and the cause of the stain, it can take several courses of whitening treatment to get the desired results.3 With take-home whitening kits, the daily use of the whitening protocol will get good results if the patient can stay with the treatment for 10 to 14 days. But most patients are whitening drop-outs and stop treatment prematurely. They do not get the bright white smile they want and are not happy. These patients may not have found the tray comfortable to wear or may have experienced bleaching gel oozing from the tray over the gingiva and perhaps further posterior into the mouth, so they do not complete the whitening treatment. Sensitivity is the most common reported side effect, with gingival irritation as the next most reported side effect mostly caused by the fit of the custom tray.4
So how do we make patients happy with an at-home whitening system? It has to be easy to use, provide rapid results, be comfortable to wear and designed for no tooth sensitivity or gingival irritation.
The new Colgate Optic White Professional Whitening Take-Home Kit provides a whitening experience that finally lives up to patient expectations. The kit consists of a hydrogen peroxide whitening serum in a precision pen applicator and an LED device that emits purple light.
The precision pen with a brush applicator paints the bleaching serum precisely onto the facial aspect of the anterior teeth. The serum contains a polymer that rapidly dries to form a solid film which holds the bleach close to the enamel, allowing the peroxide to reach the intrinsic stain. The hydrogen peroxide enriched film stays on the tooth until it is brushed away and is impervious to saliva, water or removal by a sweep of the tongue. The brush-tipped pen allows for precise, easy, no-mess application which helps prevent gum irritation, and the serum is designed for no tooth sensitivity.
The patented LED device uses purple light which has a shorter, higher energy wavelength. This wavelength allows for greater activation of the free oxygen radicals which are responsible for the bleaching of chromophores which cause teeth to appear stained. There is no need for impressions or to make custom trays, the LED device fits comfortably and fits virtually everyone. Since the custom tray is one of the causes of gingival irritation with the LED device, the potential gingival irritation is dramatically reduced.
The new Colgate Optic White Professional Whitening Take-Home Kit is easy to use. Just brush it on and use the LED device, get rapid results with a 10-minute application time and with the precise bleaching serum application and comfortable LED device designed for no dentin or gingival sensitivity. It works for those patients who have not stayed with longer whitening protocols, whitening drop-outs, and those who have experienced sensitivity or irritation with other whitening systems.
The synergy of the brush tipped pen with the bleaching serum and the purple light patented LED device allows for dramatically whiter teeth in 5 days when used as directed; it is extraordinary whitening made simple.
This new whitening system is available only to dental professionals to give to your patients through Colgate and sold exclusively through Henry Schein Dental.
Go to https://www.colgateprofessional.com/products/optic-white for more information.
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