Teeth Whitening

There are 2 types of treatments available to whiten teeth.

Laser treatment

An in house treatment that is carried out by the dentist and takes approx 1 hour.  Costing a similar amount to the alternative home treatment kits, its main benefit is the speed of the results.  However, some patients suffer from tooth sensitivity for some time following treatment.  Patients are advised to be tested for sensitivity prior to choosing this treatment.

Home Treatment kits

The dentist will take an impression of teeth to be whitened and make a custom bleaching tray for them.  This bleaching tray is similar to a mouth guard except that it is very thin, fitting perfectly over the teeth. The teeth are then whitened by using a special dental bleach which is syringed into the custom made trays and placed in the mouth for 4-12 hours (depending on the concentration and desired outcome). Over a period of weeks the teeth become whiter. The teeth can be sensitive during the treatment but this is normally short lived.  Your dentist can advise you on how to manage this.

Any external stains on the teeth (stains from smoking, tea and coffee etc) should be treated with a scale and polish before the treatment begins so that tooth whitening treatment is maximised.  Similarly, tooth whitening should not be undertaken if there are cavities in the teeth as this can be very painful.

Patients who have had root canals on teeth may need to have those teeth whitened separately, as they may not respond well to normal tooth whitening methods.Our dentist can advise how to bring the tooth to the correct colour.