HLD uses both the Zoom! Chairside Bleaching System and the Opalescence Home Bleaching Care System.  Both bleaching systems are very effective and have proven to be safe in numerous clinical studies.

Bleaching works very well in most patients as a conservative (no drilling) method to make your teeth look whiter and brighter. The primary difference between the Zoom! and Opalesence systems is the speed of the bleaching result.

With the Zoom! In-Office Whitening System, a 1 hour session will product the same bleaching effect as aproximately 10 hours of the Opalesence system. However, patients taking certain mediacations that can make the lips and skin extremely sensitive to light, are not able to do the Zoom! without discontinuing the use of their medications for several days prior to having the Zoom! procedure done. In these cases, the bleaching system of choice would be the Opalescence system because the no high intensity light is needed to activate the bleaching gel.

Most teeth will lighten from 4 to 8 shades in color when compared to the porcelain shade guides used by your dentist in choosing the color for porcelain crowns and veneers. Tetracycline staining and darkening from having a root canal done on a tooth usually do not get a good result from bleaching. Also, bonded fillings, porcelain crowns, and porcelain veneers do not bleach; only natural tooth enamel will bleach. So if your are having porcelain crowns, veneers or bonded fillings done as part of your dental treatment plan, if bleaching is in the treatment plan also, it should be done first so the color of the porcelain or bonding material can be matched to the newly bleached teeth.