Dentist-led teeth whitening
Teeth whitening is one of our most popular cosmetic dental treatments. It’s a fantastic way to enhance your smile, and the results are amazing.
We offer professional teeth whitening, so every step of your treatment will be overseen by a GDC-registered dentist. Our goal is to help you achieve a whiter smile safely.
Why choose dentist-led whitening?
Teeth whitening treatments are readily available. However, they’re not all created equal. We’ve outlined some of your options below and why we recommend professional teeth whitening to our friends and patients.
Whitening toothpastes
Whitening toothpastes promise brighter teeth for less than the price of a coffee. Unfortunately, no toothpaste – even ones that contain hydrogen peroxide – can whiten teeth. The most a toothpaste can do is remove surface stains but be wary of abrasive formulas that could damage your enamel.
Abrasive toothpaste ingredients are usually derived from chalk and silica and include calcium carbonate and zirconium silicate. If you are unsure, speak to your dentist, who will be able to recommend a toothpaste for you.
Over-the-counter whitening kits
You can buy over-the-counter teeth whitening kits to bleach your teeth at home. They typically consist of whitening strips or trays that you fill with whitening gel.
These DIY whitening kits aren’t administered by dentists, so the law limits the amount of hydrogen peroxide they can contain to 0.1%. Unfortunately, this is too low to change the colour of your teeth.
It might be tempting to look online for a whitening gel with a higher percentage of hydrogen peroxide but beware. These kits don’t comply with UK regulations and can arrive without instructions or even a list of ingredients.
Illegal whitening clinics
It’s illegal for anyone other than a registered dental professional to offer whitening treatments. Always check the qualifications of your clinician. If you have any concerns, you can verify their credentials at www.gdc-uk.org.
Sadly, some unscrupulous businesses misinterpret the law and still offer whitening treatments illegally. These rogue individuals aren’t qualified to check the health of your teeth and could cause irreversible damage to your teeth and gums.
The benefits of teeth whitening by a dentist
If you see a dentist for professional whitening, you can relax knowing that your smile is in safe hands.
We’ll start your treatment with a dental health check to make sure you’re suitable for whitening. It’s important to know that restorations like teeth bonding and veneers won’t change colour. If you want to replace them after whitening, we can discuss your options and provide a quote.
We offer two teeth whitening treatments: Pola whitening and Enlighten whitening. They’re both applied using whitening trays, which we’ll custom make to fit your teeth perfectly.
Enlighten whitening can lift your teeth by up to 16 shades. It guarantees a B1 result, which is the lightest naturally occurring shade.
You’ll wear your whitening trays at night for a couple of weeks. You’ll be in control of your transformation, so you can gradually build up the whiteness of your teeth. If you experience any sensitivity, you can take a break for a night or two before resuming.
Once you’re happy with the shade of your smile, you can easily maintain the colour with top-up treatments from time to time.
In professional hands, teeth whitening is very safe – and it won’t damage your dental enamel. If you have any questions for our team, we’d be delighted to meet you for a free consultation.
