Teeth whitening is the lightening of the color of your teeth through the application of a safe and medically approved gel. It is easy and minimally invasive, requiring no local anesthetic or any removal of tooth substance. Professional teeth whitening procedures at Primecare dental clinic involve the use of peroxide.
Your teeth may need whitening if they are discolored. Teeth discoloration can be due to the following:
Chairside Teeth Whitening
Chairside teeth whitening is thoroughly done at our dental office by your dentist, where a strong concentration of whitening gel is used on your teeth to achieve exceptionally quicker results. This is useful if you are looking for results on short notice. At Primecare Dental Clinic, we trust our Opalescence Chairside Whitening System to aid us with this process. With this material, your teeth can be whitened by several shades from their original color with apparent differences in just one session.
Home-Based Teeth Whitening Treatment
Home-based teeth whitening involves the instructed self-placement of whitening gel into customized trays made specifically for your mouth, which are then placed over your teeth. The gels are of lower concentration as compared to chairside teeth whitening. Depending on the nature and severity of your tooth discoloration, the duration of a treatment usually lasts from 2 to 6 weeks. Still, it can take up to 6 months for too stubborn and intrinsic stains. Chairside and home-based tooth whitening may sometimes be used in combination to achieve enhanced and sustainable results.
Stage 1:
At your teeth whitening consultation, our dentist will thoroughly explore your concerns and determine the cause of your discolored teeth. Specific measurements and photographs of the color of your teeth, along with any necessary X-rays, will be taken. We will then discuss which type of tooth whitening (Chairside, home-based or both) and other treatments you may need e.g, scaling and polishing, airflow treatment to be most suitable to treat your teeth discoloration.
Stage 2:
Chairside Teeth Whitening; The procedure lasts around 1 hour. Your eyes, lips and gums will first be covered with protective material. The whitening gel is applied over the relevant tooth/teeth. Special plasma light is then shone over to activate the gel, allowing its gentle penetration into your teeth to break up stains.
Home-Based Teeth Whitening: Intraoral mouth impressions will first be taken of your teeth to construct customized tooth whitening trays. These will be collected at your next appointment. During then, our dentist will provide you with teeth whitening gels and instructions on how to use them with the tray. Depending on your type of tooth discoloration and the tooth whitening system used, you will be advised to wear the tray for a specified number of hours during the day or at night.
Stage 3: Post-Treatment Care
Once your treatment has been completed, color measurements and photographs of your teeth will be retaken and reviewed with those collected before treatment, ensuring that you are satisfied with the results. This will be done immediately after the procedure for chairside teeth whitening, or at your 2 to 6-week review appointment if home-based tooth whitening has been done. Depending on how stable your whitening effects are, re-whitening or touch-up whitening may be required every 1 to 4 years. Therefore, if you have had home-based whitening, it will be useful to keep your whitening trays in a safe, dry and clean place as you may be able to re-use them should the structure of your teeth remain the same. It is very important that you avoid smoking while whitening your teeth at the same time as this can multiply the cancer-causing effects of the smoke.
