How Often Can You Do Teeth Whitening?

Teeth whitening is one of the most popular elective dental treatments in the world. There’s a lot of pressure on people to have a great smile. We tend to automatically think that people with white smiles are healthier, happier, and more successful, and want to enjoy these characteristics ourselves.


Fortunately, professional teeth whitening can help us to achieve these ideals. Performed in the comfort of your dentist’s office, professional whitening uses a combination of bleaching gels and special lights to break down staining and discoloration and lighten the teeth over the course of several sessions. But, just how often can you whiten your teeth? The answer to this question depends on whether this is your first time having teeth whitening, or if you are looking to maintain your current results.

The first time whitening your teeth

If this is your first time having professional teeth whitening, you’ll need several sessions to lift the stains on your teeth and reach the desired results. Exactly how many sessions this will involve will depend on the starting color of your teeth, the shade that you want to achieve, and how well your smile responds to the treatment.

Maintaining your results

If you’ve previously had your teeth professionally whitened, you will be keen to preserve your results for as long as possible. Your dentist at Today’s Family Dental will give you plenty of advice regarding things that you can do at home to minimize the risk of discoloration and staining. This advice will include things such as avoiding foods and drinks that could potentially stain your teeth, such as coffee, red wine, and berries, and not smoking. You’ll also be reminded of the importance of brushing your teeth properly using fluoride toothpaste, which will help keep your teeth looking attractive as well as healthy.


Beyond this, you may be recommended to have regular whitening services which will help boost the whiteness and brightness of your teeth. These may be recommended even if you haven’t noticed a significant decline in the color of your teeth. The reason for this is that you may be able to maintain your results with just a single or two treatments if you do this, rather than needing to undergo several sessions. How often should these regular whitening services be? Listen to the advice provided by your dentist, but most recommend professional teeth whitening no more than twice per year.

Signs you are whitening your teeth too often

Nevertheless, it is possible to whiten your teeth too much, and doing so can lead to a range of different issues. If you experience pain when you eat anything hot, cold, or particularly sweet, and your dentist can’t spot any signs of decay or gum disease and you’ve been whitening your teeth, you could be developing hypersensitivity, which is a sign you’ve been whitening too often. Another issue that can occur is that teeth can start to become translucent in appearance, and while a degree of translucency is normal, too much can be a sign that teeth are too weak.



If you would like more information about teeth whitening, or to schedule a consultation to find out if whitening is right for you, please contact our friendly and experienced dental team. Call Today’s Family Dental at (813) 212-8700 to reach our office in Tampa, Florida.