Teeth Whitening: The good, the bad and the ugly.

The quest for the perfect Hollywood Smile is becoming more popular year by year, prompting the dramatic rise in demand for teeth whitening products and procedures. Of course, the simplest way to get whiter teeth is to get your morning routine right, but you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution then you might be considering a teeth whitening procedure.

Unfortunately, the rise in demand for more affordable teeth whitening procedures has caused a rise in rogue practitioners offering teeth whitening services at incredibly cheap prices. It sounds appealing, but these practitioners buy illegal, online-bought whitening kits. The legal limit for public kits is 0.1% hydrogen peroxide and for dentists 6%, but these rogue practitioners are using kits which are, astonishingly, 33% hydrogen peroxide. It is this shocking difference that makes them illegal and incredibly dangerous. They can cause mouth infections, blistering and burns to gums, plus damage to nerves and tooth enamel. In the most severe of cases the solution has been swallowed causing extreme sickness. Aside from this, only qualified dental practitioners are legally allowed to perform these procedures. Your dentist will have attended an extensive training course which has given them the relevant knowledge and experience to perform a teeth whitening procedure safely. It is illegal for anyone other than your dentist to perform such a procedure.

Although over-the-counter whitening kits have been described as less dangerous, they can still cause the same number of issues. Your dental practitioner will capture a mould of your teeth to construct a tailored mouth guard. This mouth guard controls the placement of the bleaching gel during the whitening process. Ill-fitting mouth guards allow bleach to leak onto the gums and onto the mouth, causing blistering to the gums and extreme tooth sensitivity. Mouth infections become more likely and in the most severe cases mouth infections have been linked to tooth loss. The risk of the product being swallowed also increases. Those cheap alternatives don’t sound too appealing now, do they?

If you have fallen a victim to tooth discolouration, and wish to be provided with a safe procedure, guaranteed to give results then have no fear! At Roy Morris Dental Excellence we will provide you with a comprehensive consultation. During this, we determine together whether bleaching is an appropriate course of treatment for you – especially important for those with fillings and crowns. We will also discuss what level of whitening you desire, whether you want to go full on ‘A-Lister’ or simply remove a few of those dreaded tea stains. If the bleaching method has been approved we will make an impression of your teeth using a mouth guard, then instruct you on how to use the bleaching gel at home. Using your mouth guard you will apply the gel over a period of time depending on the level of whitening you have chosen, but we can get you to the top of the scale within two weeks. We also provide a similar teeth whitening method for those with very sensitive teeth. If you’re looking for a quick brush-up to remove a few simple stains, our hygienists will be able to provide you with another specific service.

With Dental Excellence however, there’s no need to turn to a rogue practitioner who will put the health of your teeth and gums in great risk with those illegally concentrated bleaching solutions. Our fully qualified professionals will carry out that vital consultation, and use only the safest of products to ensure you get the results you desire and no ugly surprises. For further information on our teeth whitening procedures and on how to book a consultation, contact us here. Alternatively, if you would like to drop us a message stating your query, a member of our team will get back to you shortly.