Teeth Whitening and Cosmetic Dentistry

Whether your teeth have darkened over the years, have stained due to years of tea and coffee, red wine or tobacco use, or are discoloured due to tetracycline staining, whitening will help restore your teeth to a lighter, brighter colour. We recommend using a home whitening system as this is the most thorough, safest and easiest way to achieve the whiter smile you would like.

A full assessment of your mouth is made before proceeding, and full instructions given Impressions are taken of your teeth, and thin trays are made covering just your teeth. These are worn for just 30 minutes a day, or overnight as you prefer, and for most people, you will notice a difference in just a few days. Treatment for most people will take between 7-10 days, dependant on what has stained the teeth, and how light you would like them. Treatment does not have to be on consecutive days, it can be spread over days or weeks to fit in with your lifestyle. The results will be just the same, but will of course take a little longer to achieve. We normally review your mouth 2 to 3 weeks after treatment, to check on your progress, and ensure that there are no problems and that you are happy with the result.

We don’t recommend power whitening of teeth. These require the use of higher concentration gels which can cause sensitivity of your teeth, and often with lights to activate the gels. These are unnecessary, and our home whitening kits are fully active as soon as they touch your teeth. Home whitening is much cheaper and easier to carry out, normally only requiring four to six 30 minute sessions a year to maintain your smile, using top up gel purchased from the practice as part of your ongoing treatment and routine examinations. At the commencement of your treatment, your kit has 4 syringes of gel, and the top up kits have two syringes. Each syringe will whiten both upper and lower arches between 3 and 5 times, dependant on how you use it, and the size of your dental arch. As long as the trays fit well, and in most cases they will last for years, you can keep on using them and top up your smile as required. If you are in any doubt about how well the trays are fitting, bring them to a routine appointment and we will happily check the fit for you. Power whitening means having to pay the same fee again to whiten your teeth, that you did when your teeth were first whitened. Your teeth will whiten as far as the gel will take them, no more, no less. With home whitening, you are in total control of how light your teeth go, stopping and starting as required, until you are really happy with the result. With power whitening, this may not be light enough, in which case you have to pay for another full session, or they may be lighter than you would like, in which case you must just wait for them to darken again over time.

If your teeth are discoloured due to Tetracycline staining or sclerosis (the natural age darkening of teeth, where the nerve slowly shrinks and the tooth darkens), tooth whitening will help although it is less predictable and may need to carry on for several months, dependant on what has stained the teeth and how dark they are. Even if it is not possible to fully lighten the teeth to the degree you would like, because the teeth are now lighter,subsequent treatment to mask the staining like veneers will be simpler, and more straightforward to carry out.

We are always happy to see you to give you an assessment of your teeth, and the likely cost of any treatment involved before commencing.