In short
Teeth whitening is a cosmetic treatment that uses a professional peroxide gel to lighten the natural color of enamel and dentin, lifting stain left by coffee, tea, red wine, tobacco and age. At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Las Vegas, Dr. Kevin examines you for decay, gum recession and sensitivity first, cleans the teeth with an air polishing system, records your starting shade, then whitens. Whitening changes natural tooth structure only, so crowns, veneers, bonding and tooth colored fillings keep the shade they were made in, which is why whitening is sequenced before cosmetic work rather than after.
Teeth whitening lightens the natural color of your teeth. A professional whitening gel carries peroxide through the enamel and into the layer beneath, breaking apart pigment collected over years of coffee, tea, red wine and ordinary use. Nothing is drilled, nothing is removed, nothing is bonded on.
Whitening is also widely misunderstood. Whitening works beautifully on a tooth that is simply darker than you would like. It does far less for a tooth that is dark for a structural reason, and it does nothing at all to porcelain or composite.
At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Las Vegas, teeth whitening begins with an examination. Dr. Kevin looks at decay, gum recession, enamel wear and the dental work already in your mouth, then tells you plainly whether whitening alone will get you what you want. Sometimes the answer is yes and the treatment is straightforward. Sometimes whitening is one step inside a larger plan, and you should hear that before you spend anything.
What Causes Teeth to Stain and Darken
Staining comes in two forms and they behave differently. Extrinsic staining sits on the outside of the enamel. Coffee, tea, red wine, cola, curry and tobacco leave pigment on the tooth surface, and it binds readily to the film of plaque that builds through the day. Extrinsic stain responds well to cleaning and very well to whitening.
Intrinsic staining lives inside the tooth. Enamel thins with age and wear, and the dentin underneath is naturally yellow and darkens over time, so a tooth can dull without a single cup of coffee. Trauma, certain medications taken while teeth were still forming, and heavy fluoride exposure during development all change color from within. Intrinsic color responds less predictably, and one dark tooth among lighter neighbors is usually a different problem with a different answer. Dr. Kevin will tell you which kind of staining you have.
Is professional teeth whitening better than strips from the drugstore?
Yes. Professional teeth whitening does two things a drugstore strip cannot. The first is evenness: a whitening strip is a flat film laid across a curved arch, so it contacts the front of a tooth well, the curved edges poorly and the spaces between teeth barely at all. Professional whitening is delivered so the gel reaches the full visible surface of every tooth treated, which is why the result reads as uniform rather than patchy.
The second reason matters more. A box off a drugstore shelf cannot examine you. Gel that reaches inside a tooth through an untreated cavity hurts, and gel sitting on root surface exposed by gum recession is uncomfortable. Screening is what makes whitening comfortable. Before any gel is used, we look at the following.
- Decay, cracks and leaking fillings, which let gel reach the inside of a tooth
- Gum health and any recession that has exposed root surface, which is more sensitive and does not lighten like enamel
- Every crown, veneer, bonded repair and tooth colored filling that shows when you smile
- Enamel thickness, wear and erosion, which change both the result and the comfort of treatment
- Whether your darkening is extrinsic, intrinsic or limited to a single tooth, because those three have different answers
- Your own history with sensitivity, so strength and schedule can be set to suit you
How Teeth Whitening Is Done at Form + Function
Whitening works on a clean tooth, so we start there. Our air polishing system uses warm air, water and a fine powder to lift film and surface stain with minimal scraping. A plaque staining system shows where bacteria are collecting and sorts what it finds by age against a 24 hour threshold and by cavity producing risk. Low dose digital X-rays and Dr. Kevin's examination confirm there is no decay or failing restoration under a tooth about to be whitened.
Your teeth are then captured with a digital intraoral scanner. There is no impression material and nothing to gag on, and the scan gives an exact record of your starting position and your starting shade for comparison before and after. How your whitening is best delivered depends on your enamel, your sensitivity history and how quickly you want the result. Dr. Kevin will recommend an approach at your consultation.
Will whitening change the color of my crowns, veneers or fillings?
No. Whitening changes natural tooth structure only. Porcelain crowns, porcelain veneers, composite bonding and tooth colored fillings do not lighten in response to whitening gel. Porcelain holds the shade it was made in, and composite tends to pick up surface stain over the years rather than lighten. If your natural teeth lighten several shades and a front crown stays where it was, that crown will suddenly read as dark.
This is why whitening is sequenced before cosmetic work rather than after. You whiten first, let the color settle, then match any new crown, veneer, bonding or filling to the shade you arrived at. Done in the other order, you are choosing between a mismatch and replacing work you just paid for. If you have dental work you intend to keep, tell us, and Dr. Kevin will say honestly whether whitening will improve your smile or make the mismatch more obvious.
Will whitening make my teeth sensitive?
Temporary sensitivity is the common side effect of whitening, and for most people it settles on its own within a few days of finishing. It tends to arrive as brief cold zings rather than constant ache, because peroxide passes through enamel and reaches the nerve endings served by the dentin beneath. It is also manageable: Dr. Kevin can adjust how whitening is delivered for you, and many people find a desensitizing toothpaste before and during treatment helps. If pain is sharp, lingering, or coming from one tooth in particular, stop and call the studio.
How long does teeth whitening last?
Results are not permanent, and how long yours hold depends almost entirely on habit. Teeth pick up new pigment the way they picked up the old, so daily coffee, tea, red wine or tobacco brings color back sooner, while cutting those back and keeping the surface free of plaque holds a result longer. Most people maintain with periodic touch ups rather than repeating the whole treatment. What yours will need is something Dr. Kevin can tell you once he has seen how your teeth respond.
What does teeth whitening cost, and does insurance cover it?
Whitening is cosmetic, and cosmetic treatment is generally not a covered benefit on a dental plan. We will still review your plan and tell you what we actually find. Form + Function accepts most PPO dental insurance plans and is in network with a select few. We do not publish a whitening price, because the honest figure depends on what your teeth need and which approach suits your case. You receive the full cost in writing before treatment begins. Payment plans and third party financing are reviewed at the consultation, and cosmetic consultations are $50.
Your first visit is unhurried. About two hours are reserved for every new patient at our Summerlin studio, and Dr. Kevin sees one patient at a time from start to finish. He will examine your teeth and gums, take the images your case calls for, record your starting shade and talk through what whitening can and cannot do for you. Eye patches, AirPods Max headphones, aromatherapy, a weighted blanket and Evian or San Pellegrino water are offered at every appointment and cost nothing. We are at 4205 S. Grand Canyon Dr. #19, next to Target at the Grand Canyon Shoppes.
