There are numerous situations where having a perfect, white smile would be ideal—weddings, graduations, job interviews, first dates. It would be nice to look back at your wedding photos and see your happiness exemplified through your perfect smile. Lucky for you, getting a white smile isn’t all that hard.

Tooth whitening has become extra convenient for those individuals with hectic schedules. Depending on the treatment chosen, some tooth whitening options don’t require you to visit a dentist. A few teeth whitening kits can be applied from the comfort of your bathroom, saving you time to hit the gym or make that run for groceries.

Tooth Whitening Treatments

There are two kinds of whitening treatments that can improve the colour of your teeth. Those are surface whiteners and bleaching. Surface whiteners use special abrasives to help whiten your smile. Most products that fall into this category are toothpaste or chewing gums. The special abrasives found in these products are only finer versions of what is already in basic toothpaste or chewing gums. Therefore, there won’t be any extra wear on your teeth. The effectiveness of these products, however, is limited to only surface stains. The more complex discoloration will not likely be fixed by using these products.

Another tooth whitening option is the use of bleaching products. The majority of bleaching products are peroxide-based and can physically alter the colour of the tooth itself. However, not all stains respond to bleaching treatments. To ensure the treatment will work, first, visit your dentist who will help determine the cause of the stain. This consultation is crucial for individuals who have fillings, root canals, crowns, or extremely dark stained teeth.

Like surface whiteners, there is a number of bleaching products for people to choose from. If allowing a dentist to whiten your teeth, he or she will use one of two methods to get your desired result. If your teeth have extrinsic stains from food, tobacco, beverages, or old age, dentists can perform vital bleaching, which is done on living teeth. If your problem tooth is no longer considered alive (i.e. if you’ve had a root canal), your dentist will use non-vital bleaching to remove the stain. To obtain a white smile, your dentist may apply the bleach directly to your teeth and heat it to start the reaction. They may also provide you with a mouthguard filled with special bleach to wear or give you a special toothpaste that has bleach mixed with it.

Related: What’s the Most Effective Teeth Whitening System?

KöR Tooth Whitening Solution

KöR is a tooth whitening solution provided by many Edmonton dentists. KöR is widely recognized as a world effective whitening system that doesn’t use lasers or lights. Its cost-effectiveness, long results, and home kits also contribute to its popularity.

KöR offers four different kinds of treatment—Home, Max, Ultra, and Ultra-T—that gives users desired results either at home or at the dentist. Unlike the other treatments, the Home option allows for either daytime or nighttime whitening and is perfect for patients who can only whiten for short periods of time. The Max treatment, which is the bestseller, combines at-home whitening with one in-office visit. For stubborn cases, the Ultra treatment works wonders, and the Ultra-T works exceptionally well on stains that were previously thought to be untreatable. All four treatments advise use for a two week period.

Spa Dent Whitening Solution

If you don’t feel comfortable whitening your teeth yourself, Dr. Jason Harvey can do it using Spa Dent whitening solution. While at-home whitening kits may be ideal for some, this in-office treatment produces much faster results. This solution is perfect if you need to whiten your smile on a time crunch. However, although the solution works faster, the results will also disappear quicker than an at-home solution. In-office treatments utilize both blue and red light to whiten teeth. Blue light accelerates the peroxide, which is what produces the fast results, and the red light assists with tissue regeneration. After the treatment, it’s important to drink only water until one hour has passed, and avoid consuming anything that can cause stains for 24 hours.

Several treatments can help you get the perfect smile you’ve always wanted. Surface whiteners and bleaching products are common solutions to fix stained teeth. How to choose the best teeth whitening option depends on the type of your stain. KöR is a great solution for those stubborn stains that won’t go away and Spa Dent produces great results in a short period of time. Next time you’re at the dentist, ask them about KöR and Spa Dent and how your desired results can be fulfilled by using this product.