What is teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening involves bleaching your teeth to make them lighter. Teeth whitening can't make your teeth brilliant white, but it can lighten the existing colour by several shades.

Who can perform teeth whitening?

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.

What happens during teeth whitening at the dentist?

If you have teeth whitening you will need to make several visits to the dental surgery over a couple of months. An impression of your teeth to make a mouth guard and will instruct you how to use it with a bleaching gel. Then, using your mouth guard at home, you regularly apply the gel for a specified period of time over two to four weeks. Some whitening gels can be left on for up to eight hours at a time, which shortens the treatment period to one week. Another type of teeth whitening system that a dentist can provide is called laser whitening, which is also known as power whitening. This is where a bleaching product is painted onto your teeth and then a light or laser is shone on them to activate the whitening. Laser whitening takes about an hour but as not good as home bleaching! We at epic Dental recommend home bleaching.

What are the risks of teeth whitening?

Some home kits don't contain enough of the whitening product to be effective. More generally, if a dental professional is not doing the whitening, the mouth guard provided may not fit properly so some of the bleaching gel may leak out onto your gums and into your mouth, causing blistering and sensitivity.