Why I love over-the-counter bleaching products! by Dr. Arnold Bender, DDS Believe it or not, over-the-counter whitening products may have actually increased our bleaching business. Here’s how ... In this ever-evolving world of cosmetic dentistry, vital bleaching has become one of the most sought-after procedures. There aren’t many days when at least one of my patients doesn’t ask about lightening their teeth. Part of the reason is those over-the-counter products. The ads promise spectacular results for little cost compared to traditional dental fees. We dentists know that the weaker OTC products don’t always deliver the results they promise. But these ads have increased the awareness of whitening. Professionally prescribed treatment using custom trays is generally more effective - faster - and the results are longer lasting. Fact is, most patients would really prefer to have their dentist monitor the whitening procedure, but when they’re weighing a $300 dental fee vs a $30 box of WhiteStrips ... well ... We’ve developed an approach to whitening that lets us compete very effectively with the OTC products by (1) lowering our charges substantially so the premium doesn’t seem nearly so onerous and (2) making the whitening procedure easier and much faster than commercial strips. In fact, we now LOVE to have patients ask about OTC whitening products - because it opens the door to a discussion about cosmetics. And when we’re finished, they usually decide to let us oversee the procedure. Here are the changes we’ve made - We now have our bleaching gel made by a pharmacy to my specifications. We use a formula containing 22% carbamide peroxide for fast whitening plus 5% potassium nitrate and 2% sodium fluoride in order to counteract any sensitivity. And we now use Mach-2 die silicone for instant models and fast tray fabrication. I’ve used this material for years to fabricate one-appointment restorations (inlays, crowns, even short bridges)* so using it to make bleaching trays was a logical step. Here’s how the scenario usually goes - 1. Patient inquires about whitening their teeth or asks about OTC whitening products during their hygiene appointment. 2. My hygienist explains the procedure and mentions our fee to the patient. If the subject of drug-store products comes up, she explains the difference between OTC whitening and professional whitening. (A prescription 22% carbamide peroxide formula vs 6% hydrogen peroxide ... 2 weeks whitening vs who knows? ... custom-fabricated trays to keep the gel positioned for prolonged bleaching vs a strip or short-term brush-on application.) Once the patient understands these differences and how reasonable our fees are, they usually choose professional whitening. The hygienist immediately takes an alginate impression. 3. While the hygienist proceeds with the prophy, my assistant constructs the custom trays using Mach-2. 4. The total time from impression to tray delivery is just 20 minutes. This means the patient leaves the hygiene appointment with bleach, trays, and printed instructions in hand. You may find a local druggist willing to formulate for you. The pharmacy I use is Strathcona pharmacy (www.strathconapharmacy.com). They will compound whatever formula or strength you wish. I order 20ml syringes and purchase 25 at a time. My cost is only $10.00 Canadian per syringe. That’s about $7.60 in US dollars. One syringe will generally last about 2 weeks, and in that time produce a very satisfactory result. I’m now capitalizing on the increased awareness that OTC advertising has created. I am able to compete effectively with over-the-counter products and get much greater patient acceptance. Remember over-the-counter products may have to be repeated several times by the patient (increasing the cost) to produce results, whereas professionally administered bleach in trays get a result fairly quickly. When the patient understands the difference in speed and effectiveness, the relative small premium we charge for professional whitening seems a real bargain. In addition to satisfying patient demands for whiter teeth, vital bleaching has been a valuable prelude to further cosmetic procedures. For more information on Mach-2 click here
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Fig 1) If the patient requests treatment, the hygienist takes an alginate impression, gives it to my assistant, and returns to the prophy.
Fig 2) The assistant fills the impression of the teeth with Mach-2 ...
Fig 3) and creates the model base using Blu-Mousse Super-Fast.
Fig 4) Two minutes later, the model has set.
Figs 5&6) Using a vacuum-forming machine the assistant creates the tray.
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