Take Home Trays

What are Take Home Trays?

Easy and cost-effective, take-home trays are a bleaching procedure that uses custom-made take-home whitening trays to put a healthier look back into your smile without the cost of other cosmetic treatments.

Although there are many over-the-counter products available for whitening teeth without dentist supervision, the most effective and safest whitening treatment that the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) recommends is using custom-fitted mouth trays made by your dentist.

How Whitening Your Teeth with Take Home Trays Works

The take-home tray whitening process is comfortable and only requires a short visit to your dentist. Before starting the whitening process, your dentist will clean your teeth and treat any existing dental problems like cavities or gum disease. The next step is making your custom take-home whitening trays, sometimes called stents or custom bleach splints. After taking an impression of your teeth, your dentist will use the molds to make your trays. Durable, lightweight, and clear, the trays usually take a couple of days to be made.

Once made, these trays can then be taken home and used along with guidelines from your dentist. For at-home use, your dentist will instruct you to place a small amount of the bleaching solution into the clear trays and wear the trays for up to four hours a day for one to two weeks.  

After the trays are used and removed, they need to be cleaned with a Q-tip or a cloth and rinsed. It's typically not recommended to use whitening trays for multiple days in a row, but they can be re-used over time to whiten your smile. 2-3 times a week is a good rule of thumb. It's important to note that if your teeth have dark, tough stains, not just light staining, it can take longer to obtain great results with whitening trays than with other treatments.

Overall, patients are amazed at how much whitening takes place during this time, and an occasional treatment now and then is all you need to keep your teeth looking their best. If you are looking to achieve a beautiful smile, turn to Thorn Run Dental Care for take-home trays and other teeth whitening services in Moon Township. For more information call us at 412-269-9466.