How Do LED Lights Whiten Your Teeth?

Do you know you can brighten your smile by at least a few shades within 20 minutes? Well, the professional teeth whitening is needle-free and do not require using a dental drill. Rather, the procedure is very simple as placing the whitening agent, applying an LED light, and allowing it to sit properly on the teeth. The latest technology has made it possible to have whiter and brighter smile quickly. The light has a vital role in the accelerated teeth whitening and to know how LED lights works in the whitening process, you must know about the basics of teeth whitening method.

Basics of teeth whitening

When you visit your dentist to get your teeth whitened, he will clean your teeth at first to ensure that the whitener can be applied on the teeth surface. You will be provided with special tools to hold the mouth open and protect soft tissues of your mouth during the whitening method. After it is applied to your teeth, the whitening gel will stay in place for almost 20 minutes.

As the teeth are porous, the whitening gel gets absorbed by the enamel and dentin tooth layers. The presence of active ingredient in the whitening gel is hydrogen peroxide that can eliminate stain marks and is safely absorbed by the body. Mostly, over-the-counter whitening products require lower concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, while the dentists use higher concentrations to get faster and effective results.

When it is applied to your teeth, hydrogen peroxide acts in the form of a catalyst for an oxidation reaction to take place. The oxidation reaction then breaks down molecular bonds of discolored molecules which cause stains to disappear. Then hydrogen peroxide dissolves stain marks from the tooth enamel and dentin layers for whitening the teeth. Though the whitening gel remains on your teeth for a certain time, it will remain effective for the first 24 hours after the application.

How LED lights can help

You might think how LED light can help in this process. An LED, also called a light-emitting diode, releases one color of light on the visible light spectrum when it is exposed to electricity. Earlier, UV or ultraviolet light, was used to help in the whitening process but UV light is now found to cause cell mutations that can cause cancer.

So, the LED lights replace UV lights quickly for the whitening procedures. LED lights will need minimal power, last longer, and do not require a warming up period to stay effective. Though the light seems to be more intense than other forms of light, they are much cooler due to their ability to dispel heat. These things make them the suitable light option for teeth whitening procedure.

LED lights can be used in teeth whitening for one specific reason as they can speed up chemical reactions that help to get rid of stains from the teeth. Whitening agents remain effective for 24 hours and the chemical reactions mean more stains can be removed easily during this period of time. Thus, the more stains that can be removed, the brighter your smile will appear. So, LED teeth whitening may lighten your smile by almost 6-8 shades during a single whitening session.

Thus, adding LED lights to whitening procedure can help a lot in improving the effectiveness of whitening agents and allow you to restore your brighter and whiter smile. Besides, it is the whitening agent that acts as the key element of laser teeth whitening treatment and though the results cannot be achieved with an LED light, the phenomenal results will be delivered when it is used with the whitening gels. Visit here to know more information about laser teeth whitening treatment method.