What Happens in a Professional Teeth Whitening Procedure?

A whitening visit begins with an examination, because the dentist needs to rule out decay, cracked teeth, gum disease and exposed roots, all of which turn a comfortable treatment into a painful one. X-rays may be taken if anything is in doubt.

Your starting shade is recorded, usually against a shade guide and with photographs, so you and the dentist can see afterwards what actually changed. Fillings, crowns and veneers on the front teeth are pointed out at this stage, since they will not change colour and may no longer match.

A scaling and polish usually comes first. It removes surface stain and tartar, and some people find that is all they needed. The what is teeth scaling page describes it.

The lips and cheeks are held back with a retractor, and the gums are covered with a protective resin or dam, so the gel touches only the teeth. This is the step that stops chemical burns, and it is why professional gel can be used at a strength you should not use unsupervised.

The whitening gel, containing hydrogen or carbamide peroxide, is painted on the front surfaces of the teeth. It stays for a set period, the dentist rinses or refreshes it, and the cycle is repeated. Some clinics use a light or laser to accelerate it, though the evidence that the light adds much is mixed, and the gel does the whitening.

The whole appointment typically takes around an hour to ninety minutes. At the end the barrier is removed, the teeth are rinsed, and the shade is compared with the starting photograph.

The other route is take-home whitening. Impressions or a scan of your teeth are used to make custom trays, and you wear them with a weaker gel for a set time each day over one to two weeks. The result is comparable, and it tends to be gentler on sensitivity because the exposure is lower and spread out.

Many dentists combine the two: an in-chair session for the first jump, then trays to finish and for later top-ups. The cost of each route is on the teeth whitening cost page.

During treatment you may feel short, sharp twinges as the peroxide passes through the enamel. The dentist can pause, reapply a desensitising agent or shorten the exposure. Tell them straight away rather than putting up with it.

Sensitivity to cold and a mildly sore gum edge are common for a day or two afterwards. Over-the-counter pain relief as directed on the label is sufficient for most people, with the usual cautions: check with a doctor or pharmacist if you have stomach ulcers, kidney disease, asthma, are pregnant or take blood thinners. Whether it is safe in the first place is covered in is teeth whitening safe.

For about two days afterwards, teeth are more prone to picking up colour. Avoid tea, coffee, red wine, tobacco, paan, and strongly coloured sauces during that window.

Whitening is maintained rather than permanent. How long it lasts depends mostly on how much staining food, drink and tobacco you are exposed to, and top-ups with trays keep it going. Expect it to fade gradually over a year or more, not to vanish.

It cannot whiten restorations, change deep tetracycline or fluorosis staining much, or fix a single dark tooth that has lost its nerve (that needs internal bleaching). If whitening is not the right tool, the smile design service covers what is.