Teeth Whitening
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Teeth Whitening in Menomonie, WI
Safe and Effective
Tooth Whitening, or bleaching, is a safe and effective way to give you a bright white smile and remove unattractive discoloration. It places whitening solution on the teeth to remove discoloration and stains.
We offer several methods at our Appleton dental office. Each differs in the strength of their whitening agents and the time they take to remove discoloration.
- In-office bleaching with Boost – usually done in one appointment.
- Take-home whitening trays with opalescence
- Deep Bleaching – combination of in-office and at-home whitening – Best Overall Result!
- Crest White Strips – Now available in Professional or Supreme strength. They’re 42% to 80% stronger than over-the-counter white strip products and can only be purchased at a dental office like ours.
How Does It Brighten My Smile?
For all three techniques above (not including the preformed Crest Strips), we take impressions of your teeth and custom trays are carefully fabricated to closely adapt to the teeth. A whitening gel is applied to the inside of the custom-fitted trays, which are generally worn for a certain time period, depending on the type of whitening you choose.
The active ingredient in most of the whitening agents is carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide; when water contacts this white crystal, the release of hydrogen peroxide lightens the teeth. Carbamide peroxide is dispensed in varying concentrations, ranging from 10%-35%. There are also hydrogen peroxide gels that are dispensed in the “Deep Bleaching” and in-office procedures.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?
Whiter teeth should last several years, depending on your personal habits such as smoking and drinking coffee and tea. At this point, you may choose to get a touch up maintenance kit. This procedure may not be as costly because you can probably still use the same custom trays that were originally fabricated. The re-treatment time is also much shorter than the original treatment time.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Take?
The at-home system could take 3 days to 2 weeks to fully bleach your teeth. The in-office system takes just over 90 minutes. Deep Bleaching involves a sequence starting with an in-office “conditioning” appointment, which takes about an hour.
The next step involves wearing custom trays at home and at night for the next 2 weeks. The final step involves a strong in-office treatment to finalize that “WOW!” factor, which takes about 90 minutes.
Whichever system you choose, the end result is the same: whiter teeth!
What Are Realistic Expectations?
Every case is different and depends on the type of stain and your cooperation. Typically, there is a two to five-shade improvement as seen on a dentist’s shade/color guide. However, with Deep Bleaching, results can be more dramatic, with changes up to an eight-shade improvement.
Whitening can only provide a shift in color from gray to a lighter shade of gray, for example. Also, and very important, whitening does not bleach artificial restorations such as bonding, crowns, or porcelains. However, it can help restore the original color of the restoration when it was first applied.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?
Whiter teeth should last several years, depending on your personal habits such as smoking and drinking coffee and tea. At this point, you may choose to get a touch up maintenance kit. This procedure may not be as costly because you can probably still use the same custom trays that were originally fabricated. The re-treatment time is also much shorter than the original treatment time.
Dental Insurance
Red Cedar Dentistry is in-network with many PPO dental insurances. When you schedule an appointment, make sure to ask if we accept your specific plan. Below is a list of some of the major insurance companies we are in-network with*. Not seeing your plan here? Give us a call! We are in-network with many additional plans not listed here.
Aetna ▪ AFLAC ▪ Ameritas ▪ Anthem ▪ Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) ▪ CIGNA ▪ Colonial Life ▪ Companion Life ▪ Cypress Ancillary Benefits ▪ Delta Dental ▪ EBSO ▪ FEP Blue ▪ Formula Card ▪ Government Employees Hosptial Association (GEHA) ▪ Guardian ▪ Health Partners ▪ Humana ▪ Liberty ▪ Lincoln Financial ▪ LineCo ▪ Medica ▪ Medico ▪ Meritan Health ▪ Metlife ▪ Mutual of Omaha ▪ NTCA ▪ Physicians Mutual ▪ Principal ▪ Renaissance ▪ Simple Dental ▪ Standard Insurance Company ▪ Starmount ▪ Sun Life Financial ▪ TeamCare ▪ UMR ▪ United Concordia Tricare & ADDP ▪ United ▪ Unum ▪ WEEBF ▪ Wilson McShane Corp.
We are currently not accepting any new Forward Health (Badgercare) patients. We are able to accept Forward Health as a secondary insurance.
*Please note that we may not be in-network with all plans under these carriers. Always confirm if our office is in-network before your visit.
In-House Membership Plan
No Insurance? No Problem! The Red Cedar Dentistry In-House Membership Program is designed to help lower the cost of dental services for patients without dental insurance. For a reasonable yearly membership fee, the program provides discounts for most preventative, restorative, and cosmetic services. Our program is not the same as dental insurance. It has no deductible, no annual maximums, no pre-authorization, and no waiting period! Contact our office today to ask questions and to get all the details. Memberships are valid for a full year, and can be renewed annually.
Payment Options
If you do not have dental insurance, we will talk with you about our in-house membership program (see above), our flexible payment options, and about CareCredit®, which is a third-party financing option. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office. We are happy to help!