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HEALTH, TRAVEL, SPORTS, FOOD

Travel: Southern charm and
Jewish heritage.

Food: The blueberry harvest
means good eating.

M w flw g U g E :i

Sports: Surf and turf
blend youth, experience.

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Shining The Smile

Dentists say
patients
are choosing
to have their
stained teeth
bleached.

RUTHAN BRODSKY

Special to The Jewish News

N

early 25 years ago, dentists were try-
- ing to whiten their patients' smiles
with procedures that were both painful
and not particularly effective. Ten years
ago, the pain was gone but the stains mostly
weren't.
In the last couple of years, however, dentists
have found new and much more effective ways of
helping their patients restore their teeth's bright,
white, youthful glow. And patients old and young •
are willing to pay the price — sorry, no insurance
— to take advantage of the process.
Irene Gordon of West Bloomfield is typical.
Late last year she needed to decide on the color

for a new crown and "I realized how
Above: Dr. Bill Lucas work, including braces for adults and,
dark my teeth had become over the
explains the teeth-
more recently, whitening chompers
whitening kit to Lori
years."
that have endured the ravages of smok-
Wechsler.
Her dentist suggested she try tooth
ing, coffee, tea, red wine, antibiotics
whitening, "and in three days I had the
and plain old age.
Inset: Lori Wechsler
results I wanted. The difference was
The whitening is achieved with con-
shows off her smile
like night and day."
centrated bleaching agents, usually
after the treatment.
In a 1997 survey for the American
hydrogen peroxide or carbamide perox-
Dental Association (ADA), dentists
ide. The peroxide is applied in a paste
reported a sharp rise in the number of tooth-
or gel and held in place with a custom-fitted
whitening procedures they were doing. They said
mouthguard or tooth tray worn for several hours
both men and women wanted the cleanup so they
a day.
would look younger, adding that the majority of
The mouthguard is the key to the process
the patients were women.
because it controls side effects by confining the
With improved dental care reducing dentists'
bleaching material to the teeth and keeping it off
need to fill cavities and build bridges, the profes-
sensitive tissues such as gums.
sion has generally found more time for cosmetic
The cost for whitening the teeth with a