Professional teeth whitening can be accomplished either as an in office procedure or with take home bleaching kits.
The in-office procedure involves applying a hydrogen peroxide gel to the teeth and then illuminating the gel with an overhead lamp that delivers UV light to the area. This breaks down the gel and allows oxygen to enter the tooth, bleaching the teeth.
The take home procedure involves the patient doing the whitening procedure at home. The gel is placed in custom fabricated trays everyday and worn for a period of 2 weeks. This process is not light activated, and takes longer to achieve the same result, but is more cost effective.