How Does LED Teeth Whitening Work?

In as little as 20 minutes, you can have your smile brightened by 5-10 shades? Furthermore, professional teeth whitening procedures use no needles or dental drills and are needle-free. Instead, the procedure involves applying an LED light, placing the whitening agent, and taking a few minutes to let it sit.

Does this sound too good to be true? One of the rare cases where that isn’t the case is this one. It has actually become easier and quicker to achieve a whiter and brighter smile thanks to modern technology. In addition, the light contributes to the accelerated whitening process. You cannot whiten your teeth by simply smiling at an LED light. We at Eugene dentist can achieve a dazzling smile in a short amount of time using LED technology. You must first understand how teeth whitening works in order to understand how LED lights play a role. 

How does teeth whitening work?

To ensure that the whitener can be applied evenly to the surface of your teeth, your teeth will first be cleaned at your local dental office before having them professionally whitened. During the whitening process, you will also be given special tools to hold your mouth open and protect your soft tissues. Approximately 20 minutes will pass after the whitening gel is applied to your teeth. 

The enamel and dentin layers of the tooth absorb the whitening gel due to their porous nature. Gels that remove stains contain hydrogen peroxide, which is safely absorbed by the body after removing stains. Cosmetic dentists use higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide to get faster, more effective results than over-the-counter whitening products. 

Hydrogen peroxide acts as a catalyst for an oxidation reaction when applied to the teeth. By breaking down the molecular bonds of discolored molecules, the oxidation reaction removes stains. By dissolving stains from the enamel and dentin layers, hydrogen peroxide whitens teeth. For the first 24 hours following application, the whitening gel will remain effective despite only being on your teeth for a short period of time. 

What are the benefits of LED lights?

It is quite possible for you to be wondering how an LED light can help you at this point. The LED, or light-emitting diode, emits only one color of light when it is exposed to electricity. It used to be that UV, or ultraviolet light, was used to aid in the whitening process. There is, however, evidence that UV light can cause cancerous mutations in cells. 

For whitening procedures, LED lights quickly replaced UV lights. Power consumption of LED lights is minimal, they are long-lasting, and they do not require a warming up period. Due to their ability to dissipate heat, their light is more intense than other types of light, but it is also cooler. As a result, they are ideal for whitening teeth. 

Research shows that LED lights accelerate chemical reactions involved in teeth whitening because they speed up the removal of stains. The effectiveness of whitening agents lasts for 24 hours, as previously mentioned. This means that more stains can be removed during this time period by speeding up the chemical reaction. A brighter smile is ultimately achieved by removing more stains. An LED teeth whitening session can lighten your smile by six to eight shades on average. 

With LED lights added to whitening procedures, whitening agents have become more effective, resulting in brighter and whiter smiles. In spite of this, the whitening agent remains the most important component of the whitening process. In combination with whitening gels, LED lights can produce phenomenal results even if they are used alone.

Are you looking for professional whitening treatments and LED-activated whitening treatments to enhance your smile? With an appointment at Quest Dental in Eugene OR, you’ll fall in love with your smile again.