Five things you should know about having your teeth whitened at Dental Concepts in Hampshire

Here at Dental Concepts, we offer patients trusted tooth whitening treatments like Enlighten Premium whitening or Pola Tray home whitening. You may have heard of some of these before and we would be happy to explain how they work in detail at your next appointment.

Here are five things we would like you to know:

1. How does tooth whitening work?

Tooth whitening works using methods to remove stains from the teeth that are caused by the ageing process, certain foods and drinks, and habits like smoking. The process will lighten the colour of the teeth without damaging them. Whitening treatments use either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, which gets broken down once activated and causes oxygen to get into the enamel of the teeth and create the whitening effect.

2. It’s really simple

Tooth whitening can be done in two ways: at practice and at home.

Pola Tray home whitening will require you to have special trays made for you; these are a bit like gum shields but are much thinner and more comfortable to wear. You will then be given a routine to follow at home that will require placing a small amount of gel into the tray before wearing it for a specified length of time.

The other option is Enlighten Premium whitening, which is  a combination treatment meaning that there is a 2-week home treatment followed by a 1-hour visit to the dentist. It works by increasing the tooth‘s permeability to oxygen which breaks down stain molecules and is seen to have guaranteed results.

3. It’s quick

If you are advised to use the home whitening method, this will take between 10 days to two weeks and will all depend on how discoloured your teeth are to start with and what result you’d like to achieve. The lighter you want go, the longer it will take. Chairside whitening will take between 60-90 minutes depending again on how stained your teeth are to start with.

4. It’s safe

As long as the treatment is delivered by a dental professional, tooth whitening is completely safe. We will assess the health of your teeth and gums beforehand and will only allow the treatment to be carried out if there are no other conditions that require attention first. Tooth whitening products are highly regulated and can only contain very specific and safe amounts of the active ingredient.

5. Damaged teeth

Tooth whitening will give you a more natural and healthy smile than the so-called Hollywood Smile we see many of our favourite celebrities such as Kate Winslett and Tom Cruise sporting. In some cases, you may have one or two teeth that cannot benefit from the procedure because they are false or damaged. In these instances veneersor composites can be used in conjunction with tooth whitening. Similarly, if you have silver fillings it would be worth speaking to us about swapping them for white ones instead.

Our team members Dr  Manish Chitnis, Shilpa Chitnis, Meghna Pareek and Pritesh Bhatt have trained and qualified to deliver teeth whitening treatment to a high standard at Dental Concepts in Hampshire.

If you have any questions about having your teeth whitened, be sure to book an appointment with us today to discuss your options and payment plans.

Drop into the practice at Unit 1B, 132 Weyhill Road, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 3BE  or call us on 01264 313 999