Patient Library
Opalescence Whitening
Custom Whitening Experience
You will have 3-4 appointments in total during your whitening process.
The first appointment will be approximately 30-40 minutes. At this appointment you will have impressions taken for your custom made whitening trays. We will take "before" photos and we will determine your starting shade. The solution we choose for you will be determined by Dr. Semans and/or Ginger at this appointment as well. We have different strengths of whitening solution that can be used. The type of treatment will be determined by how sensitive your teeth may be before starting whitening, how long you prefer to wear the trays during each session, and if Dr. Semans has any concerns regarding tissue or teeth prior to beginning treatment.
Protocol for each solution type is as follows:
10% and 15% can be worn overnight, 20% can be worn for 1-2 hours, 35% can be worn up to 30 minutes
The second appointment will be approximately 20-30 minutes. At this appointment you will receive your trays and all materials necessary to begin your whitening process. You will be given instructions and have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have before starting. Ginger will check in with you periodically to make sure you are comfortable with how the process is going and to make sure you don't have any questions.
The third appointment will be approximately 15-20 minutes. At this appointment we will determine your final shade. If you are pleased with the results, we will take "after" photos. If you are not content with the shade difference achieved, we may have you continue for a few more days and have you back to check the final shade after that.
The whitening process generally takes 8 days of daily use to achieve maximum shade change. This may be 8 consecutive days or 16 days of every other day use.