Teeth whitening is another very popular way to change the appearance of teeth. There are two types of whitening, in-office or at-home whitening. In-office whitening uses a high intensity light along with 35% hydrogen peroxide. The patient?™s gums are protected, and the whitening process takes about an hour. The results are usually teeth that are four to six shades lighter than before. The at-home systems generally use between 10 and 20% carbamine peroxide. Impressions of the person?™s mouth are made in order to make trays. The trays are then fitted and the patient is told to place a little bit of the carbamine peroxide gel in the tray and ware it while sleeping. The time of wearing this varies greatly from one week to six. Some people use a combination of in-office and at-home systems. This usually has a result of 12 to 15 shades of whitening.

There are three popular procedures to fix only a few unappealing teeth. The procedures for fixing select teeth are: tooth shaping, bonded-bridge, and resin or tooth colored fillings. Tooth shaping is when a doctor removes a very small amount of enamel from a tooth in order to shape it and make it more appealing. This is usually used for shortening long teeth, rounding off pointed teeth, or to simply make a smile follow the contour of the lower lip (which is more appealing). This procedure costs only $25 to $75 per tooth. The bonded-bridge procedure is used to replace missing teeth. The procedure usually involves taking out a small amount from teeth on either side of the missing tooth and then taking an impression or mold. From this, a bonded-bridge that can attach to the backs of the teeth on either side is made. There are resin-bonded bridges that do not fall out as easily, and there are metal bonded-bridges that are more expensive. Finally, people can get resin or tooth colored fillings. Resin is used to fill small cavities or a chipped front tooth. Resin instead of porcelain veneers saves money as well as time, but resin needs to be replaced every so often.