Surely you have noticed all of the hype about the various teeth whitening procedures that are nearly everywhere you look. There are TV commercials for different methods, there are tubes of toothpaste, whitening strips and even kiosks at the mall where you can get your teeth whitened.

With all of these options and more, which one is the best option for you?

The products and methods that are available all do work but they take months to show any kind of noticeable results. In addition, you must make a habit of regularly using these products. All that, and still there is no guarantee that your teeth will be as white as you want them to be when you finish using the products.

Is there a better option?

Of course there is. In this day and age there is always something better right around the corner. In this case,  seems to be laser teeth whitening.

While it is true that any type of oral or tooth care must begin at home, simply brushing and flossing regularly does not remove stains from decades of foods, teas, coffees and smoking. These stains are deep set in the teeth and simply keeping the surface of the teeth clean doesn’t remove them.

Some people's teeth are dark because they have internal stains on the tooth, not on the surface," Dr Singh differentiates. "Surface stains come off, but the deeper stains embedded in the enamel are what comes off during in-office treatments when the oxygen molecules from our zoom light are released from hydrogen peroxide, which causes the stains to break up and dilute, which makes the teeth whiter.

Dr Singh breaks down the difference between treating teeth stains with at-home versus in-office treatments. "Things like oil-pulling, white strips, whitening toothpaste, and charcoal-based cleaners to whiten your teeth are removing surface stains and making your teeth appear whiter," explains Dr Singh. "Those products don't actually bleach your teeth like professional teeth whitening. What determines how white your teeth are going to get is how concentrated the hydrogen peroxide is, which is a bleaching agent. With our treatment, the peroxide is remaining isolated on your teeth for a significant period of time."