Whitening procedures are excellent and should be incorporated into all contemporary restorative practices. Some patients can avoid major restorative work with teeth whitening and minor orthodontic therapy – and the least dentistry is the best dentistry, in my opinion.
My office uses the Zoom! Whitening light, but I have found that it is not as predictable as tray bleaching. Recent studies show that the whitening lights do nothing. I have seen some patients respond quite well with Zoom!, though. Because it’s unpredictable, we always follow up in-office whitening with home bleaching trays.
Be careful not to assume that everyone’s teeth should bleach in the same amount of time. My philosophy, and what I tell my patients, is that we will bleach until the teeth are white. Don’t think that if you don’t get proper color with one kit, a patient’s teeth can’t bleach. Even tetracycline stains can bleach to some degree, but it may take several months of tray use.