As a dentist, it’s important to educate your patients and help them make the right whitening decisions for their teeth. When it comes to whitening systems, the science clearly shows that bleaching lights and lasers have no measurable effect on teeth whitening and can also increase sensitivity in patients. However, there is still a demand for the procedures. To most patients, lights and lasers just sound exciting and intriguing.

When patients ask about whitening systems that involve lights and lasers, you’ll want to have appropriate responses to their questions. Make sure to share your insight and have information ready to answer with a professional recommendation, such as the KöR Whitening system.

In this article, we will walk through how to—and how not to—reply to patients asking about bleaching lights and lasers.

First, here is an example of how NOT to respond:

Patient/caller: Do you do XYZ Whitening with the XYZ bleaching light or laser?

Dental office: No, we no longer use bleaching lights or lasers. We have found that lights and lasers often cause discomfort and do not increase whitening results. We have a far more effective whitening system that gets teeth much whiter. It is long-lasting when you follow a simple at-home maintenance, and you don’t even have to give up your favorite coffee, tea or red wine. When would you like to schedule an appointment?

“It’s important to establish trust with your patients. If you just start pushing for a product immediately, your patients may feel like they are being sold something they might not want.”

At this point, the patient will most likely not believe what your office says and will continue to find services elsewhere. Here is an example of a more effective way to address the same question:

Patient/caller: Do you do XYZ Whitening with the XYZ bleaching light or laser?

Dental Office: Absolutely! We have done many whitening cases with the bleaching light/laser. However, we don’t use it much anymore because we have something newer that costs the same and gets teeth many times whiter.

Patient/caller: Could you tell me more about the newer system?

Dental Office: Sure! The newer system gets teeth several times whiter and it is long-lasting. With occasional at-home maintenance, this system allows you to continue enjoying your favorite coffee, tea or red wine. Our patients really love the results. When would you like to schedule an appointment to try it out?

It’s important to establish trust with your patients. If you just start pushing for a product immediately, your patients may feel like they are being sold something they might not want. Be open to providing them with the information and let them decide for themselves. You’ll be amazed at how well this technique works.