Teeth Whitening
A teeth whitening treatment can be a great way to improve your smile!
It’s important to know all the facts about teeth whitening before you get started and what method will work best to whiten your teeth safely and effectively.
We now use and recommend the KOR brand whitening and KOR protocol whitening trays, after trying various other brands we have found this brand produces the best results.
The reason for this is:
1) KOR whitening trays are made with a more thorough protocol (compared to other systems) which means less of the bleach is washed away.
2) We receive the KOR bleaching gel via a cold chain delivery process direct from the manufacturer, meaning the product is at maximum freshness and effectiveness when we receive it and not sitting around warehouses unrefrigerated and deteriorating for months on end.
We offer three options for teeth whitening: KOR take home, KOR in chair and KOR combination (both in chair and at home tooth whitening system).
For the KOR take home whitening, firstly digital scans are taken of your teeth to create custom whitening trays. You then take the trays and whitening gel home with you and you use it every night for 2-3 weeks; for people that may grind their teeth, we recommend day use.
At home whitening, over a few weeks, is still the most effective way of whitening teeth.
In chair KOR whitening is a good way to ‘boost’ teeth whitening. A special bleaching gel is carefully applied to the teeth. From our experience we don’t recommend in chair whitening on its own.
The results achieved with any in chair whitening system, are not adequate and don’t last, despite what the advertisements say.
The KOR combination whitening involves 3 days of home whitening followed by an in-chair whitening. This is the option we find produces the best result for those who don’t wish to do the home whitening. However it will never be as effective as a complete take home whitening treatment.
Most commonly most teeth discolouration is due to 1) the natural colour of the teeth, just like some people have blue eyes and other brown eyes, some people have white teeth and some have yellow teeth; and 2) age : the white part of the teeth gets thinner over a lifetime, exposing more of the inner yellow layers of the teeth.
The teeth can also be surface stained by food and drinks such as coffee, tea, tobacco, red wine etc; or discoloured due to certain antibiotics in childhood.
Some people may have staining under the surface of their teeth which can be caused by certain antibiotics or by tiny cracks in the teeth which take up stains.
Tooth whitening only works on natural teeth and not on dentures, crowns and veneers. To check if you are a suitable candidate for teeth whitening call through for an appointment and the dentist can advise you.
Firstly we make an impression of your teeth and custom make a tray that fits perfectly and comfortably when it’s worn. We show you how to use the tray with the gel system and instruct you carefully on its use.
Over the following weeks you use the whitening system at home as directed by the dentist. Whitening takes around 2 weeks in total and gently brightens the teeth.
Tooth whitening only works on natural teeth and not on dentures, crowns and veneers. To check if you are a suitable candidate for teeth whitening call through for an appointment and the dentist can advise you.