What is it? Tooth Whitening is a quick and simple way of lightening the colour of teeth and brightening up your smile. The shade of your teeth, like hair colour or skin tone, varies from person to person. Some teeth are yellower or greyer than others. Teeth tend to get darker as people get older. Single teeth sometimes become darker if their roots have been damaged or diseased and the nerve has ‘died’ or been removed. Tooth whitening changes the colour of teeth but surface stains, such as tea, coffee, red wine or tobacco still have to be removed manually by your dentist. What will my dentist do? For a tooth which is dark inside, the bleach is put in the root canal temporarily, before or after the tooth is root-filled. There are two ways of bleaching the outside of teeth. Home bleaching:

Before After

• Your dentist will note the initial shade of your teeth on a shade guide
• An impression of your teeth will be taken using a putty like material. From this impression, a dental technician will make a specially moulded bleaching tray ( just like a very thin mouthguard ) which fits very closely over your teeth.
• You will then be provided with a weak bleach jelly to place in the trays and then put in your mouth for two hours every day or overnight. The whitening process can take from two to six weeks.

Bleaching in the surgery:

• The dentist will apply a protective covering to your lips and gums.
• A stronger bleach jelly is painted on the teeth and a special light applied to the teeth for 20 minutes. This cycle is repeated approximately three times.
• The bleach is then removed from the teeth.

What are the side effects?
Some patients complain of increased sensitivity of their teeth during the treatment, but this is a temporary effect and can be reduced with the use of de sensitising toothpaste.

Fillings, crowns or veneers on teeth are not affected by tooth whitening gels and therefore will not change colour. You may need to replace these to match them to your new tooth colour.

What are the benefits?
Tooth whitening lightens the colour of your teeth and improves the appearance of your teeth without removing any of the natural tooth surface. Whitening is a better option than a crown or veneer, as the placing of crowns and veneers involves changing the shape of the tooth.