If you want to have a whiter smile, then one of your options is to visit a cosmetic dentist and get a professional teeth whitening. By whitening your teeth, you can dramatically improve your smile and your confidence, but it's not necessarily for everyone. To help you figure out whether teeth whitening is a good fit for you, here is an introduction to the subject:

What is teeth whitening?

Put simply, it's the application of hydrogen peroxide to your teeth. The exact strength of the solution will vary, but it will remove many of the stains on your teeth, restoring them to a more natural color. This can be either performed at home or at the dentist's.

When performed at the dentist, you will have access to a much more potent cleaning solution, which can result in a brighter smile that will end up lasting you much longer.

Why not whiten your teeth at home?

While you certainly can whiten your teeth at home, there are some disadvantages to doing so.

Whitening products for use at home are much weaker than the substances that are used at a dentist's office. This is mainly meant to comply with safety regulations, since the form of whitening solution that is used by dentists could potentially be dangerous in the hands of a careless home user. This ultimately means that home whitening solutions are less effective than professional versions, which are typically longer lasting and more thorough.

Secondly, whitening your teeth at home means that you will have to give up the expertise of a dentist. While you might think that you can apply the solution yourself, you might miss a couple of spots here and there. It can be difficult to notice such things, especially if you are whitening your teeth yourself, but these small mistakes can lead to a smile that is not uniformly whitened. A dentist can whiten your teeth much more thoroughly, since they will have the advantage of expertise and an external perspective.

How much does teeth whitening cost?

For a professional teeth whitening, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars, with an average in the neighborhood of $600. This might seem like a lot, but it is much cheaper than comparable options. A professional bonding can cost several hundred dollars per tooth, which means that bonding for a single tooth will cost you as much as a full whitening.  Contact a dentist, like Nittany Dental Associates, for more information.