Laser teeth whitening and other ways
of improving your teeth

At one time or another, most of us have looked at our teeth and wondered what we could do to make them whiter. Actually, there are numerous cosmetic treatments for whitening teeth, from laser teeth whitening to dental veneers to the use of bleaching trays and gels. The cost of these professional teeth whitening treatments is nothing to sneeze at, of course, but they're affordable to most -- you don't have to live in Beverly Hills or in an Orlando penthouse to take advantage of modern dental advances.

Phasers on stun!

Unlike the phasers of Star Trek, dental lasers are low-powered devices that activate bleaching agents, rather than powering off stains themselves. Each tooth to be whitened is coated with a peroxide gel much like those used in bleaching trays, and then the dentist zaps the tooth with the laser. The tooth is immediately 6-10 times whiter, and then the dentist moves on the next one. The cost of laser whitening hovers about $1000 for all your teeth, and may cost a bit more if you stretch it out over several dental appointments.

Dental cosmetics

Your dentist has other tools at hand besides a laser. They can also use a tooth whitening system like Rembrandt, which you're sent home with, or even rely on bleaching trays. These are rigid plastic devices that contain a whitening agent and fit over your teeth. The cost of either treatment can run as high as $500. If you want to go all the way you can whiten your teeth by capping them, which costs thousands, or by having the dentist paint on veneers, which costs less but it still quite expensive.