Zoom whitening comes with a number of advantages. First of all, where bleaching or in-home kits can take weeks to whiten, Zoom takes an hour. It also whitens teeth up to 8 shades, which is the most you can whiten without getting crowns or veneers. Zoom bleaching also lasts longer than most other whitening procedures.

There are also disadvantages to Zoom. While whitening is immediate, some people may be uncomfortable with such a sudden change in their appearance. In addition, Zoom is expensive-anywhere from $500 to $1000.

In-office bleaching
Bleaching is another option for whitening the teeth and is the most common form of teeth whitening, as it is also the most cost-effective (aside from bleaching strips). With this procedure, the patient visits the dentist and has impressions of your mouth taken. These impressions are then used to make a custom-made tray designed to fit your teeth exactly. From there, a bleaching gel is put in the tray and worn for an hour or two each day. Because the bleaching gel is a high concentration, results can be seen within a few days. However, it usually takes a couple of weeks to see full results. Bleaching whitens teeth about 6 shades lighter than before the process began.

This type of whitening requires between two and four visits to the dentist. Depending on the dentist, he may charge for office visits as well as the standard fee for the tray fitting and the bleach.

Whitening strips
Over the counter whitening strips are all the rage now, because they are easy to obtain, inexpensive, and do a decent job at whitening teeth. With whitening strips, you put strips with a bleach solution on your upper and lower teeth, and then leave them on for a period of 30 minutes once or twice a day for two weeks. They don't whiten teeth as many shades as in-office bleaching trays or Zoom; however, they are good if you want to maintain your white teeth or want minimal whitening.

Veneers
There is also the option of veneers, which are shells placed over the teeth to give them a whiter, more uniform appearance. In addition to whitening benefits, they can also fix chipped or worn down teeth. The downside is they are very expensive-typically over $500 a tooth, not covered by insurance.

Which is best?
When it comes to deciding which form of teeth whitening is better, it depends on your needs and how fast you would like to see results. People who require deeper whitening and will need to whiten as many shades as possible will probably want to go with Zoom, whereas someone who doesn't need or want as dramatic results will be fine with bleaching or even whitening strips.