With the ever increasing desire for a healthy looking smile, more and more people are finding tooth whitening an easy, safe and inexpensive way of giving their smile a brighter and whiter lift.
Over time, our teeth naturally start to discolour. Even with the most impeccable tooth cleaning routine our teeth will darken as we get older. Our lifestyle and consumption of particular food and drink items such as coffee and red wine can significantly increase this discolouration process. So too can smoking- slowly turning teeth from white to yellow or grey.
Our convenient home bleaching kits give patients a brilliant result within just 1-2 weeks.
Tooth bleaching doesn’t last permanently and will need to be repeated regularly in order to maintain whiteness. Although some people can notice results for a number of years, most dentists agree that tooth bleaching generally lasts around 10-12 months before it needs “topping up”.
Tooth whitening is suitable for use on the majority of patients however whitening is not effective on manufactured teeth- such as crowns, veneers or fillings. Likewise, patients with Fluorosis or tetracycline stained teeth may be unaffected.
What are the side effects of bleaching?
Patients can experience some tooth sensitivity during the bleaching procedure. The amount of sensitivity varies considerably from one individual to another. Unless there are underlying issues such as tooth decay or gum disease, in my experience sensitivity will resolve completely within 24 hours of the completion of bleaching. Children and young adults can have significantly larger pulp chambers (nerve spaces) inside their teeth: I prefer to persuade patients to delay tooth bleaching until they are in their 20s.