Who & Where

Marion Smile Center, a General & Cosmetic Dentistry located at 111. S High Street Zelienople, PA 16063. The dentist is Dr. Mark A. Marion and he was so sweet! You know when you meet someone and you think to yourself, “Wow they know their shit” ?? Yeah, well that was me when he started talking about teeth, lol.

Dr. Marion was selected by his peers, other dentists and specialists as a Top Dentist by Pittsburgh Magazine for six years in a row. The Pittsburgh Tribune‑Review selected Marion Smile Center as a bronze winner for best dental office in the North Hills area. Dr. Marion was also selected as one of America’s Best Dentists as well as a Top Dentist in Zelienople by the International Association of Dentist. So yeah, it turns out that he does know his shit!

Marion Smile center is where I got my in-office teeth whitening procedure done and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

The Smiles For Life Foundation, is a charitable foundation that has teamed up with thousands of dental practices all over the U.S. and Canada (including Marion Smile Center) in order to help raise money for children, while whitening and brightening smiles at the same time!

Crown Counsil, an association of independent dental practices, and Opalescence Tooth Whitening Systems, the whitening product provider, are the two organizations behind the Foundation.

What & When

Okay guys so here’s the deal – Marion Smile Center has teamed up with The Smiles For Life Foundation from March through June 2018, to offer discounted teeth whitening, which includes in office procedure as well as their take-home whitening kit. Here’s the best part.. they’re giving 100% (YES I SAID 100%) of the proceeds to the Smiles For Life Foundation. When you pay for your teeth whitening you will write the check directly (or pay online with a card) to the foundation, not the the dental practice. SO COOL RIGHT?!

And then, 50% of each dental office’s proceeds are donated back to a local charity of their choice. This year, Marion Smile Center’s goal is to raise $15,000 for The Zellienople Community Park. (last year they raised over $13,000 for the library)

Cool Kelsey, but how much is it?

**Disclaimer: All of the prices listed below are minimum donations

The take home whitening kit, which includes customized trays and 7 tubes of whitening gel, is $199.

The in-office whitening (takes 1-2 hours) AND the take home whitening kit with 4 tubes of whitening gel (for once a month touch ups) is $399.

Four tubes of whitening gel refills (once you run out) are $50. You get approximately 2-3 uses out of each tube of whitening gel.

Q&A

Did it hurt/make your teeth sensitive?

During the in-office procedure nope not at all, but everyone is probably different based on their sensitivity. They do use an object to keep your mouth open so that your teeth are exposed (you know, normal dentist things) and from my mouth being open that long, my throat became super dry. I do think that it may have just been my fault though from not drinking enough water that morning. (oops) Either way drink a lot of water before you go.

That night however once I went home I did have really bad sensitivity. I remember going to bed early just to try and get it off my head. I woke up the following morning with all of the sensitivity gone and I haven’t felt it since. 🙂 🙂

How long did the in-office whitening take?

The in-office takes about 1.5-2 hours depending on how many “passes” you get. This means that they apply the whitening product to the teeth, let it sit for 20 minutes, take it off and then do it again. I had 4 passes.

If I buy the take-home option, how often do I need to whiten to see results and how long each time?

If you get the customized take home trays, they recommend you wear everyday for 2 weeks, or until you get the desired shade. Then wear the trays once a month and after your regular dentist cleanings to maintain, but overall there really are no rules. You whiten when you want and how often you want based on your desired look.

You wear the trays 30 minutes at a time.

If you already have a custom whitening trays, can you just purchase the whitening gel?

Yes! In this case, you would just purchase 4 tubes of whitening for $50!

My Before & After

So that’s about it! If you guys  have any more questions/concerns or want to see live videos of my whitening experience, head over to Marion Smile Center’s Instagram @marionsmilecenter and check out their saved highlights or visit their website here.

Happy whitening for charity!