Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening should not be painful. Some sensitivity is normal. Patients may also feel slight irritation of the gums or lips. Both of these effects are temporary and will resolve, given a little time, after stopping or finishing your whitening treatment. 

We also have a wealth of products and strategies to combat sensitivity.

Teeth whitening is not permanent. With no intervention, the colour of your newly whitened teeth will begin to slowly fade back to your previous colour. The duration between topping up your teeth whitening depends mainly on lifestyle choices. People who smoke or consume food and beverages that stain teeth, such as red wine, coffee and curries, will find that they need teeth whitening at more regular intervals after their initial whitening treatment.

If your lifestyle involves one or more of these factors then you may require top-ups every 3 to 4 months. In the absence of these habits, most people will require a top-up on their teeth whitening at 6 monthly or yearly intervals. 

Teeth whitening is more effective on teeth that are on the yellow and white spectrum. Teeth that are shades of brown and grey are more difficult to whiten and may require a longer treatment, or stronger whitening agents. 

If you have local discoloration that does not respond very well to whitening, then our dentist may discuss whitening in conjunction with more in-depth procedures, such as micro-abrasion, ICON resin infiltration treatment, composite bonding, crowns or veneers.

When your teeth have white spots on them prior to whitening, there is usually one of two things that happen once you commence whitening – The white spots will disappear as the surrounding tooth whitens, and they become less noticeable, or, the teeth get whiter, but so too do the white spots, making them more conspicuous than they were previously.

It is not uncommon for the white spots to whiten more quickly than the surrounding tooth structure. This can cause some distress to people, but this is short lived, and the usual treatment is to continue whitening until the rest of the teeth are at the desired shade.