Bright Smile Teeth Whitening

Article by Marcus Amberton

Teeth whitening is one of the easiest ways to enhance your looks. Whitening techniques make it possible to have a dazzling white smile in a simple, affordable and safe way. Whitening can be carried out at home, in surgery or by using a combination of these 2 techniques. A whitening consultation is highly recommended in order to assess which technique best suits your requirements.

Teeth darken over time with ageing, smoking and coloured foodstuffs such as curry, tea, coffee and red wine. The tannins in these products penetrate the tooth’s enamel surface causing staining and discolouration of the teeth. As the bleaching agents’ breakdown, it allows oxygen to filter through the enamel. Oxygen breaks down the stain molecules. Staining quickly disappears without damaging the tooth structure.

There are a number of teeth whitening options – Zoom teeth whitening, home whitening or a combination of the both:

Zoom advanced whitening technology. This takes about an hour and a half, and uses a peroxide-based compound, mixed to a strength of your choice. This professional teeth whitening system offers the latest, most advanced technology to whiten teeth. This process combines a gentle, whitening gel with a state of the art ‘blue light’. The whitening gel used for this procedure contains a photo-activated component that reacts to the specific wavelength of the light. This process creates free radicals which enhances the oxidation process. It is the oxidation process that cleans the internal structure of the tooth, leaving it cleaner and whiter. The blue LED light will treat all of the teeth at once enabling us to provide effective teeth whitening in just one 2 hour visit making it more convenient and less time consuming than other whitening systems.

Home whitening kits This technique uses the same compound, but you apply it yourself at home using your own custom-made tray. The process takes a few days. Impressions are taken of your upper and lower teeth and sent to our laboratory technicians who will custom make your whitening trays. The trays and whitening gels will be given to you at a second appointment with a demonstration and full written instructions. You will be given the option to wear your whitening trays during the day or at night.

Combination Whitening For the best results, we recommend a combination of surgery and home whitening. The trays are worn at home for a few days before and after the in surgery procedure and only requires one short, extra visit. It should be pointed out that some stains, though reduced and improved cannot be removed entirely i.e. tetracycline & fluorosis. Crowns, veneers and filling will not change colour with whitening. You may experience some transient sensitivity, we will advise you on how best to deal with this. Highly coloured foods and nicotine staining may lessen the effects of bleaching and regular visits to the hygienist are advised to maintain the brightness of your smile.

About the Author

Bobby Bandlish is the Principle Dental Surgeon at Bandlish Auplish Dentistry Harley Street London