tEETH WHITENING

A clean, bright and white smile is increasingly becoming a goal for many of us. This can very often be achieved simply through tooth whitening. There is a wide scope of tooth whitening procedures each with distinct benefits. They have well documented long term success and safety and patients report very high satisfaction rates (over 95%). It is illegal for anyone other than a dentist or a dental professional to prescribe teeth whitening.

A thorough assessment by a dental professional should be taken before commencing any teeth whitening procedures. At Carling Dental we adopt a systematic approach to diagnosing the causes of tooth discolouration. This knowledge is essential in treatment planning for whitening to be successful.

The 3 main methods used for tooth whitening are:

Home Whitening Trays
We take in-house impressions and use a laboratory to create whitening trays for patients. Bleaching gel is also provided to the patient and is then inserted into the trays. One advantage of this process is that patients have full control over their whitening and can whiten their teeth in the comfort of their own home.

In-chair Whitening
This method uses a combination of applying bleach and the ‘Philips Zoom’ laser to the teeth for four intervals of 15 minutes in surgery by a dental professional. To increase the whitening effects it can be complimented with home whitening trays after the procedure.

Internal Tooth Whitening
A dark, discoloured tooth is a sign your tooth may have died or is partially dead; this is usually due to previous trauma or deep decay. Dark tooth treatment will usually involve initially undergoing root canal treatment if the tooth has not already been treated. The tooth can then either have a permanent restoration, such as a crown or veneer, or be internally bleached to solve the darkness of the tooth. Internal bleaching is carried out by a dentist and whitens the tooth from the inside as opposed to the outside like home whitening.