Whitening And Shaping Teeth may be whitened by either an "in-office one-hour" system or by a "home" whitening system. With the "in office" system the gums are covered by a protective coating prior to the placement of a high strength bleaching solution on the surfaces of the teeth. A light is used to initiate the whitening. The advantage is that the procedure is completed in one visit and is very predictable. In the "home" whiting system, custom trays are made and a prescription strength whitening gel is placed in the trays and worn for several hours on consecutive days. With the "home" whitening system the patient is in control of the result and can monitor the amount of whitening. Often a combination of the above systems are used to allow rapid whitening and future whitening as needed.
Sometimes for esthetic reasons teeth are selectively shaped to give a more pleasing appearance. (Notice the curved edges on the center teeth in the right photograph above.)