Check out his office:

Don Bigelow DDS PC

6364 S. Highland Dr. Suite 205. Salt Lake City

Phone: 801-424-0600

www.kdondental.com

X-Rays – The dentist or a dental hygienist takes x-rays of the mouth to document the condition of your teeth. Children seldom need x-rays before the age of five.

Teeth Cleaning – Teeth cleaning can be performed either by the dentist or a dental hygienist. During the teeth cleaning procedure, harmful plaque and tartar both above and below the gum line are removed.

Tooth Fillings – Tooth fillings are the most common, most effective, and least expensive restorative method for preventing tooth loss. If a cavity is detected in a tooth, the dentist may need to drill into the tooth to remove the decay. Fillings are used to “fill” the hole in the tooth made by the dentist after the removal of tooth decay. This helps re-strengthen the tooth.

Gum Treatment – Gum treatment is the treatment of active periodontal (gum) disease. Gum disease refers to any condition in which bacteria attack the gum and bone tissues that surround and support teeth. Gum tissue and bone can be destroyed, resulting in tooth loss.

Root Canal Therapy – Root canal therapy may need to be performed when the nerve of a tooth becomes irreversibly infected or abscessed (pocket of infection at the base of the root). A tooth can become abscessed as a result of deep decay, cracks, or trauma to the tooth. This is usually caused by the infiltration of bacteria into the center-most part of the tooth (called the pulp). Root canal therapy is the only procedure that can save the tooth.

Dental Sealants – Dental Sealants are plastic materials that coat the biting surfaces of the teeth. Sealants can be used as a good preventive measure because the plastic coating creates a barrier between the tooth and decay-causing bacteria that can be found in plaque. The dental sealant makes it more difficult for plaque to stick to the tiny grooves on the biting surfaces of the teeth. This will reduce the risk of forming cavities and tooth decay.

Tooth Extraction – Extraction is the complete removal of a tooth. Extraction is the only alternative if root canal therapy is unsuccessful. Extractions may also be recommended prior to orthodontic treatment.

Dental Advice – A dentist or a dental hygienist may provide you with special instructions on brushing, flossing, and good oral hygiene, emphasizing areas of the mouth that have significant plaque and tartar buildup.

There is no one-visit ‘fast’ bleaching technique today that makes teeth the very whitest they can be. The Deep Bleaching technique was developed by Dr. Rod Kurthy, combining and modifying several techniques and is regarded as the most effective teeth whitening technique known today. Dr. Kurthy’s Evolve Dental Technologies, Inc. Deep Bleaching products have been specifically designed to be used with his Deep Bleaching Technique, achieving the renowned Deep Bleaching results, but with much less of the common sensitivity and pain associated with other bleaching gels. The Deep Bleaching technique gets teeth significantly whiter than ever before possible. Patients who previously were unable to bleach as white as they would have liked (because of ‘bleaching resistant teeth’ or acute sensitivity) can now bleach significantly whiter.

The first session of Deep Bleaching will start with a conditioning visit in our office, which will ‘condition’ the teeth to absorb oxygen more readily from the bleaching gel in your take home “Deep Bleaching Trays”. Do not expect any whitening from this ‘conditioning’ first visit. Immediately following the ‘conditioning’ visit, you will wear your Deep Bleaching Trays for 14 consecutive nights while you sleep. After the 14th night of at-home Deep Bleaching, the final Deep Bleaching step will be performed in our office, and will provide additional whitening over what will have already been accomplished. The result will be WOW!!

If your final appointment is longer than 14 days from your first bleaching/conditioning appointment, continue bleaching every night at home until your final Deep Bleaching office visit.

Bleaching of the teeth with at-home trays is accomplished by wearing special Deep Bleaching Trays with Evolve Deep Bleaching gel in them. The trays are made of thin clear flexible vinyl. Most patients find these trays very comfortable to wear and sleep with. You will see that the trays fit the teeth very well, and there is a gap (reservoir) on the outer side of each tooth, which will hold the excess bleaching gel. Note: In most cases there will be no reservoirs on the back molars.

You will be given a bleaching kit. This kit will include syringes of Evolve Deep Bleaching gel and teeth desensitizer. When not in daily use, bleaching gel syringes should be kept in the refrigerator (do not freeze) to extend the shelf-life and effectiveness.

Teeth Whitening Theory

Everyone’s teeth have a natural biologic limit of how white they can get. Historically, once you reach this limit, no amount of additional bleaching would whiten your teeth more. However, this Deep Bleaching system will extend this previous limit and allow significantly more whitening.

The special Deep Bleaching Technique of custom-made tray fabrication is one of the reasons that this style of bleaching works so well. The unique Deep Bleaching Trays allow room for excess bleaching gel, and they seal the whitening gel in at the gum line. Most other trays made in other dental offices, do not seal at the gum line, and therefore do not keep the bleaching gel in place against the tooth. The bleach is sucked and washed out of the tray by the saliva very quickly, and very little depth of bleaching occurs. You may have heard that certain types of over the counter bleaching gels have acid in them, which may damage fillings, crowns, bondings, and the roots of teeth. The Evolve Deep Bleaching gel YOU will receive from our office has absolutely no acid whatsoever and will not damage teeth or restorations. Remember however, any fillings, crowns, bonding or other man made materials on your teeth will NOT bleach or change color. They can be changed to match the new whiter color of your teeth when you are finished.

In addition to whitening, oxygen also deep-cleans the teeth, removing microscopic debris from between the crystals of tooth structure. During and after bleaching, these ‘pores’ are cleansed and open. These open pores have significant importance, which we’ll talk about later.

Directions

You will start your bleaching immediately before sleep. If you usually lie in bed watching television before sleep, wait until you are ready to sleep before using your bleaching trays.

Just before sleep, brush your teeth immediately prior to bleaching. It is very important to brush immediately before bleaching because protein from your saliva will coat your teeth within minutes after brushing, and could inhibit the bleaching agent from whitening your teeth as quickly. On the first two nights of bleaching, after brushing, use the bottle of teeth desensitizer in your bleaching kit. You will use one cotton swab from the kit. These 22 swabs in the kit are to be used ONLY for application of the teeth desensitizer. Carefully apply drops of the desensitizer liquid directly onto the cotton tip of the swab until it is slightly moist.

Holding your lips slightly away from your teeth, apply the desensitizer to your teeth as demonstrated to you in the dental office. Firmly rub the desensitizer into the outer surfaces of the teeth, with special emphasis near the gum line and on the biting edges of the front teeth. Spend at least a full minute rubbing the moistened swab into the teeth. Add an additional drop of desensitizer to the same swab a time or two to keep it moist during the entire application.

After rubbing the swab into the teeth, try to keep your lips and cheeks away from the teeth for 30 seconds. You won’t be able to keep your lips and cheeks totally away from your teeth, but do your best. Then rinse with water.

Next, squeeze a dab of bleaching gel into each reservoir on the inner side of the outer walls of the trays (except in the very last molars). We should have demonstrated this for you during your conditioning appointment. The gel is very thick and the trays are flexible, so the gel will cause the outer rim of the tray to be pushed out away from the teeth at the gum line. After you put the tray in, you’ll need to gently push the tray back against the teeth to establish the seal of the tray at the gum line – this is very, very, VERY important. We will demonstrate this also.

If you’ve put too much gel in the tray, you’ll notice a significant amount of gel oozing out from under the edge of the tray when you push the tray back against your gums. Remove the excess with tissue or cotton, and next time use a little less gel. If you’ve put in too little gel, you will see some large open voids through the clear tray (little bubbles are OK) in the reservoirs not entirely filled with gel. If you see this, do NOT remove the tray. There is plenty of gel in the reservoirs to start your bleaching, but next time use a little more gel.

When you put the ideal amount of bleaching gel in the trays, after gently pushing the trays back against the teeth, you will see just the slightest bit of bleaching gel “peeking” out from under the edge of the Deep Bleaching Trays.

In the morning, after removing the trays, rinse your mouth with water. Then brush your teeth. After brushing, apply the teeth desensitizer as before.

You will only use the teeth desensitizer the first two nights of bleaching, however you will use the teeth desensitizer each and every morning after bleaching.

Clean the Deep Bleaching Trays with cotton swabs under COOL running water. Leave the trays in their case with the lid open so that the trays dry out fully before the next use.

We mentioned above how whitening cleans out the microscopic debris in the surface of the teeth. It is very important NOT to fill these areas back in with stains from food and beverages during the days you are actively bleaching. Ideally, during the 14 days of bleaching, stay away from (or at least reduce) foods that have staining tendencies, and reduce smoking as much as possible. As a general rule, any food or drink that would permanently stain a white shirt would be best avoided during the active phase of bleaching.

What to Expect

You may expect some slight gum sensitivity from wearing the trays, and your teeth may feel very slightly sensitive. If you should feel more than slight sensitivity of the teeth or gums, please call the dental office.
You may notice that your teeth start to look ‘ funny’. They may develop white spots. The area of the teeth neat the gum line may look dark (this is just because the rest of the tooth will have become so light by comparison). Or the color may look too opaque (chalky). Don’t fear. This should all even out during the week or two after bleaching is finished.

You may find that your lower teeth do not lighten as quickly as your upper teeth. This is because the lower teeth are smaller, the enamel is thinner, and the reservoirs of the tray will be smaller. Again, do not fear. If there is a noticeable difference between the upper and lower teeth when bleaching is completed, Dr. Bigelow may recommend wearing the bleaching trays for another week on the lower teeth. Since the enamel of the lower teeth is much thinner than the upper teeth, your lower teeth may never achieve exactly the same amount of whitening as the upper teeth, however this should not be readily noticeable.

Permanently Maintaining Your New White Tooth Color

All natural teeth darken with time. It’s normal. It is much preferable to “maintain” the whiteness of your teeth rather than touch-up the whiteness. Waiting until your teeth darken and then touching them up is a losing proposition over time. Keeping your teeth at their maximum whiteness, not allowing them to ever darken is the only sure-fire way to have a lifetime of beautiful white teeth – FOREVER!

You should wear the Deep Bleaching Trays while you sleep, one night per month for protection against darkening. As you will find out, this is very simple, as your Deep Bleaching Trays are incredibly comfortable. Wearing the trays one night per month will keep your teeth a very stable color indefinitely. Maintenance bleaching gel kits are available at our office.

Depending on your particular teeth, to permanently ‘set’ the color; we may recommend even more frequent wearing of the trays for 1-3 months after bleaching. Remember, the goal of Deep Bleaching is to have white, bright teeth forever. More frequent maintenance in the beginning will get you to this goal.

Other Bits of Important Information

Bleaching gel is very sensitive to heat. It is imperative that you NOT leave your bleaching kit with the bleaching gel in the hot car after leaving our office. Place the bleaching gel into the refrigerator when you can, and most definitely keep the gel away from heat.

If possible, do not skip nights when bleaching. We find that this slows down the whitening process.

Store your bleaching trays safely. Keep them in the case provided. Keep them away from heat – heat will distort them. Don’t leave them in the hot car. Don’t put or wash them in warm or hot water. And keep them away from your dog. Dogs seem to think that bleaching trays are chew-toys.

Most importantly, place the trays carefully in the case. When you shake the case, you should feel that the trays are loose inside the case. If they are not, and they are being bent inside or compressed against each other in the case, this will distort and totally destroy the trays.

Do not forget to bring your Deep Bleaching Trays with you to each bleaching visit at Dr Bigelow’s office.

We know you are going to be thrilled with your Evolve Deep Bleaching result, but only if you are able to comply with the above instructions – they are very important. If you have any problems or questions, call us right away. 801-424-0600.