Cosmetic Dentistry
In-clinic and take-home whitening that lifts staining from coffee, tea and smoking — carried out at a concentration and under supervision that over-the-counter kits cannot match.
Whitening lightens the natural tooth. It does not change the colour of crowns, veneers, bridges or composite fillings, which stay exactly the shade they were made. If you have visible restorations at the front, the sequence matters: teeth are whitened first, then restorations are matched to the new shade. Doing it the other way round means replacing work you have just paid for.
Surface staining from coffee, tea, smoking and some foods responds well. Discolouration that comes from inside the tooth — after trauma, after root canal treatment, or from tetracycline exposure in childhood — behaves differently and may need internal whitening or a different approach altogether. Establishing which you have is the first part of the appointment.
Temporary sensitivity to cold during and shortly after whitening is the most common side effect and is expected rather than a sign something is wrong. It is managed by adjusting concentration and contact time, and with desensitising agents. It resolves after treatment finishes.
Professional whitening uses higher concentrations than retail kits, which is why it works faster — and why gums and lips are isolated first and existing decay or leaking fillings are treated beforehand. Whitening over untreated decay or applying gel to unprotected gums is what causes the problems people associate with whitening.
Your Visit
Examination to confirm the cause of discolouration and that the teeth and gums are healthy enough to whiten, with the starting shade recorded.
Scaling and polishing where needed, so the gel works on the tooth rather than on surface deposits.
In-clinic treatment, custom take-home trays, or a combination of both depending on the case.
The result is checked against the starting shade, with advice on keeping it and topping up.
Questions
Professionally supervised whitening at appropriate concentrations does not damage enamel. Problems arise from unsupervised use of very high concentrations, from whitening over untreated decay, or from gel sitting on unprotected gums, which is precisely what the in-clinic protocol prevents.
Commonly one to three years, depending heavily on coffee, tea, red wine and smoking. Custom take-home trays can be topped up periodically to hold the shade rather than repeating the full treatment.
No. Whitening only lightens natural tooth structure. Crowns, veneers, bridges and composite fillings keep the shade they were made in, which is why whitening is done before any new front restorations are matched.
In-clinic is faster and fully supervised; take-home trays are more gradual and easier to top up later. Many cases are best served by combining the two, and which suits you depends on your starting shade, sensitivity and timeline.
Whitening toothpastes remove surface stain by abrasion but do not change the underlying shade. Retail kits use much lower concentrations and generic trays, so the gel is both weaker and less reliably in contact with the teeth.
Whitening itself is not painful. Temporary sensitivity to cold during and for a short period afterwards is common, expected, and managed by adjusting the protocol and using desensitising agents.
Treatments
Start the journey
Send a photo on WhatsApp. If the discolouration is the kind whitening will not shift, we would rather tell you before you book.
