Teeth whitening involves bleaching your teeth to make them whiter. Teeth whitening can’t make your teeth brilliant white, but it can lighten the existing colour by several shades. There are two types of teeth whitening. Home whitening, where you whiten the teeth at home with a custom- made bleaching tray and gel. In-office whitening involves your dentist whitening your teeth using safe, professional products and technology.
Teeth whitening is a form of dentistry and should only be performed by a dentist or another regulated dental professional, such as a dental hygienist or dental therapist, on the prescription of a dentist.
Some beauty salons offer teeth whitening, but this is illegal if there’s no dental professional present, thus putting your oral health at risk.
First, the dentist will need to check all your teeth and gums to ensure they are healthy before carrying out whitening. In-office whitening is carried out by the dentist.
After your initial consultation, you may opt for home whitening. This will help keep teeth white between dentist visits. You will need to have impressions taken of both top and bottom teeth to make your custom-fit bleaching trays. You will be given another appointment in 2 weeks to fit the trays and receive the whitening gel. The dentist will demonstrate correct use and give written instructions.
Photographs will be taken and an appointment booked to review your teeth. You will then carry out home whitening using your trays and gel for a period of 2-4 weeks.
For best results, we recommended combining in-office and at-home whitening.
Yes, all registered dentists can provide tooth whitening. Dentists at Sterling have had post-graduate training in the field of whitening and many years of experience to ensure you get the best results.
Our teeth whitening specialist, Dr Parvin Kapoor, has 30 years plus experience in the field of Private and NHS Dentistry. In recent years, he has concentrated his clinical practice to Cosmetic Dentistry, especially Teeth Whitening and is at the cutting edge of current studies and developments.
Yes. Internal bleaching is a method of whitening a tooth from the inside out. First, a root canal is performed to remove any pulp that is infected. Then, safe sodium perborate paste is placed deep inside of the tooth. This material reacts with stains and dissolves their particles, making the tooth appear whiter.
Although a tooth whitening course doesn’t lead to permanent results, the effects can last up to six months to one year. As long as the whitening agent is topped up, permanent results can be achieved . Once a course of treatment has started, you can come to the practice on subsequent visits and buy a top-up of syringe and use your existing trays, hence maintenance of teeth whitening is not expensive.
No. Teeth whitening won’t work on dentures, crowns, fillings or veneers. Do note, most patients who have tooth whitening eventually end up replacing the above to match the whitened result.
There is risk of teeth sensitivity and gum irritation if the whitening is done incorrectly. We will spend time to educate you well on how to carry out whitening to ensure that the risk of sensitivity or gum irritation is minimal. Call us and speak to our friendly receptionist if you like to have more information.
