What does it take to win a gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics? Years and years of practice... a great routine... and a fantastic smile. When Tara Lipinski won the women's figure skating competition at the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, she became the youngest gold medalist in an individual event in Winter Olympics history - and the whole world saw her winning smile.
"I love to smile, and I think it's important - especially when you're on-air," she recently told Dear Doctor magazine. "I am that person who's always smiling."
Tara's still skating, but these days you're more likely to see her smile on TV: as a commentator for the 2018 Winter Olympics, for example. And like many other athletes and celebrities in the public eye - and countless regular folks too - Tara felt that, at a certain point, her smile needed a little brightening to look its best.
"A few years ago, I decided to have teeth whitening. I just thought, why not have a brighter smile? I went in-office and it was totally easy," she said.
In-office teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dental procedures. In just one visit, it's possible to lighten teeth by up to ten shades, for a difference you can see right away. Here in our office, we can safely apply concentrated bleaching solutions for quick results. These solutions aren't appropriate for home use. Before your teeth are whitened, we will perform a complete examination to make sure underlying dental problems aren't dimming your smile.
It's also possible to do teeth whitening at home - it just takes a bit longer. We can provide custom-made trays that fit over your teeth, and give you whitening solutions that are safe to use at home. The difference is that the same amount of whitening may take weeks instead of hours, but the results should also make you smile. Some people start with treatments in the dental office for a dramatic improvement, and then move to take-home trays to keep their smiles looking bright.
That's exactly what Tara did after her in-office treatments. She said the at-home kits are "a good way to - every couple of months - get a little bit of a whiter smile."
So if your smile isn't as bright as you'd like, please visit our website at www.myparkdental.com, or contact us here, or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine articles "Important Teeth Whitening Questions Answered" and "Tooth Whitening Safety Tips."
