How We Whiten Teeth At Our Clinic:
Teeth whitening isn’t just for the glamorous and rich.
Normal, everyday people do it too!
We have roughly 500 customers a year getting their teeth whitened for weddings, functions or even just to look great. Let’s discuss some things around teeth whitening and why you should consider it.
What Is Teeth Whitening?
Teeth whitening is a cosmetic procedure that is done at a dental office, at a dentist, or oral hygienist.
This makes teeth whiter by covering the teeth with a gel made of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide which destroys stains that lie inside the tooth without damaging the tooth. After this teeth become more white due to the stains being broken up and washed away as by-products.
What is the process of getting your teeth whitened?
Teeth whitening first requires a consultation before getting your teeth whitened by a dentist near you. Often we will do a cleaning about a week before the time to remove any buildup of calculus and plaque to get you ready for your whitening procedure.
But why would you need a consultation before getting your teeth whitened? Well, some teeth just don’t whiten, and then you get other teeth that are extremely difficult to whiten.
In other cases, you may have crowns, veneers, or bridges on your front teeth or close to the front teeth which will not whiten. This needs to be looked at first before whitening teeth otherwise if the teeth are whitened the veneer, crown, or bridge will stay the same colour and the other teeth will become white! Now that’s quite a disaster…
Once your consultation is done, your dental professional can then book you for a teeth whitening or start whitening immediately.
We place isolation all over your gums which is called a liquid dam or gum protector. This prevents the whitening gels from burning our gums. We also place a lip retractor and cotton rolls to prevent any excess gels from hurting the gums.
We then place hydrogen peroxide gel or carbamide peroxide gel on your teeth which works for a different duration for each whitening brand that is used in the office. Some brands take 1 hour and others 2 hours. In our office we use FLASH whitening which takes 1 hour to complete the teeth whitening.
We will wash the whitening gel off your teeth every 15 minutes and place new gels on which remove stains each time we remove the gels.
After 4 stages of 15 minutes of teeth whitening we can finally rinse the last layer of gel off and apply the sensitivity moose. This moose covers all the teeth and is absorbed by your teeth to prevent tooth sensitivity afterward.
We then provide you with whitening toothpaste to take home which will maintain your white teeth.
What Do I Avoid After Teeth Whitening?
For the next few days, you will need to avoid quite a few things for teeth whitening! Anything that has high or heavy pigmentation in it.
Food that contains lots of pigments which can be absorbed into the teeth must be avoided.
Wines, coffee, and dark teas should be avoided for a few days due to the pigments they contain which the teeth can absorb after teeth whitening.
Foods such as Indian food, heavy staining foods, and heavy colorant foods have to be avoided for about a week.
What If My Teeth Are Difficult To Whiten?
In your consultation with your dentist they should be able to tell if your teeth will be difficult to whiten.
If this is the case we offer in-chair teeth whitening and along with that a take-home teeth whitening kit to continue the whitening process while you are at home with a strong amount of hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide.
There is however a small population of people who’s teeth cannot whiten at all but this is a very low percentage of people.
What Can I Do to Prepare For My Teeth Whitening?
Make sure that you’ve had a cleaning about a week to two weeks before your whitening and up good oral hygiene since this will make whitening easier.
Brush and floss teeth well before your teeth whitening procedure to allow for good results.
Bring along earphones or headphones to listen to a podcast or your own music. Our clinic provides a TV and music while you receive your in-chair teeth whitening but some people prefer to listen to something that they prefer.
How Many Shades Lighter Can Your Teeth Become After Teeth Whitening?
Before your teeth whitening we can determine what colour your teeth currently are and we make this on a shade guide sheet.
We often see teeth becoming 4 shades lighter after in-chair teeth whitening but if more whitening wants to be achieved then it’s recommended to do a take-home teeth whitening kit to get even whiter shades.
Are Teeth More Difficult To Whiten As You Become Older?
Teeth do become more difficult to whiten as one becomes older.
Teeth become hard on the inside and this makes it more difficult for our whitening gels to penetrate the tooth and destroy those stains.
You may need more whitening sessions or need to include a take-home whitening kit after your in-chair teeth whitening.
Can anyone else do teeth whitening besides a dental professional?
Dental professionals study how to whiten teeth. There are things that can go wrong if someone else attempts it with the hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide making it a danger to our patients if not done correctly.
If anyone else does your teeth whitening it’s likely they are not using carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide product which is scientifically known to whiten teeth. In a lot of the countries throughout the world only dental professionals have access to these products.
How Much Does Teeth Whitening Cost In South Africa?
The teeth whitening price in our dental clinic is R4950.00 for in chair-whitening.
This includes isolating the teeth, applying tooth sensitivity moose afterward, using our blue light to accelerate the process, and receiving a take-home whitening toothpaste.
For our take-home teeth whitening it costs R1950.00 for the teeth whitening kit and gels included.
Interested In Doing Teeth Whitening In Durban South Africa?
Dr Gray offers in-chair teeth whitening as well as take-home teeth whitening kits to enhance the whiteness of your smile. We will ensure your teeth become more white.
We are conveniently located 15 minutes from Umhlanga, 10 minutes from Durban north and near all the major schools in Durban, Berea area.
Located at 33 Claribel Road, Windermere, Berea, Durban.