Tooth Whitening

“I would like whiter teeth” is a common request from our patients. There is quite a lot of controversy at the moment in providing this regularly requested service.

There is really no better manner of explaining this than to say that old adage, “the more you pay, the more it’s worth.” There are only two methods of whitening natural teeth; abrasion, or bleaching. Grinding the surface off your teeth would appeal to most people’s common sense as not really the ideal way to achieve whiter teeth. In fact, the more your teeth are ground away, the darker they will become as the inner structures of your teeth are a yellow colour. The closer you get to this structure (dentine), the more yellow your teeth will become. Grinding the surface will not get to the deeper stains inside your tooth. That leaves bleaching.

As dentists, we don’t like the word bleach. Most people think of bleach as a household cleaning agent or peroxide for hair lightening. Peroxide basically means “high power oxygen.” It comes in many forms and toxicities. Hydrogen Peroxide is the bleach used for hair lightening. It will certainly whiten teeth, however, the effects on the rest of the body make its use as a teeth whitening agent too dangerous.

To whiten teeth safely, a more gentle “bleach is used.” It is called Carbamide Peroxide. It is safe enough that you can buy over the counter bleaching kits with low percentages of Carbamide Peroxide. These are relatively cheap, however, they are slow to work (if at all) and the results do not last for very long. By the time that your teeth are white enough, you would have probably spent as much on your over the counter kits as if you had it done whitening professionally in the first place. Please note, whitening is not stable. Your teeth will go back to their natural colour over time unless you continue to treat your teeth every six to twelve months.

For a longer lasting, rapidly achieved whitening, stronger concentrations of Carbamide Peroxide are required. The use of stronger Carbamide Peroxide is only allowed by a dentist or an Oral Health Therapist. This is due to some safety measures that need to be monitored. In fact, it is illegal for anyone other than a dentist or Oral Health Therapist to apply “bleaching” agents to your teeth as dictated by the Dental Act. This is for the safety of the consumer.

At SANJEEVANI DENTAL CLINIC, we provide two forms of teeth whitening. The first is the traditional “take-home” kit that involves custom made trays. These custom made trays are usually worn for 40 minutes per evening just prior to going to bed. Noticeable results occur after two to three days. Generally, a full treatment course is for ten days, however, we can’t fight nature, so, after three to six months, your teeth will slowly darken from tea, coffee and red wine. The beauty about having custom trays is that a two night “top-up” treatment every six months, is usually all that you need to do to keep a white, dazzling smile. Please note that intimately fitting trays are required for using higher concentrations of whitening agent. These can only be supplied by your dentist.

Often, we find that our patients wish for instant results. For this, we use our second whitening method….ZOOM! ZOOM is a one visit procedure that takes approximately 90 minutes. ZOOM involves two to four, twenty-minute applications of whitening agent with an activating light. Please note that we are not offering one-hour whitening. Everyone is different. If you are lucky, two applications are all that is required. Generally, the treatment needs three applications, however, we always allow time for a fourth application in those rare occasions where whitening is a little more challenging. ZOOM is excellent in that you don’t need to wear trays with gel and wait for a result, however, like all whitening, nature takes over and you will gradually return to your existing colour. For this, we include a set of custom made trays that allow you to “top-up” your whitening every six-months. This usually only requires two evenings to bring you back to the smile you want.

Whitening for Life!
SANJEEVANI DENTAL CLINIC provides a whitening for life program for patients that see us regularly for continuing care.

Whitening is complicated and it is not suitable for everyone. To see if whitening is possible, please contact our practice for a complimentary thirty-minute consultation. We want you to be happy with your smile. We will be honest about expected results.