THE SECRETS OUT! IS PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING REALLY WORTH IT?
Professional Teeth Whitening is a great way to improve and enhance the appearance of your smile, just ask any Dentist!
BUT IS IT WORTH IT?
According to a 2019 report by market research firm Arizton, the global teeth whitening industry is said to reach expected revenues of more than $6 billion by the year 2025! In short, the increasing hype around ‘white bright teeth’ is real and increasing year by year!
When you Google ‘Teeth Whitening’ – there are so many different options to whiten your smile. Over the counter toothpaste, numerous whitening gel products, internet mini devices promising a whiter smile in less than 10 minutes! Take-Home Kits and Professional In-Chair Whitening treatments plus other options like Stick on Veneers pop up and fill your web search!
SO WHICH ONE WILL WORK THE BEST – as many of the options listed will DO LITTLE to improve your smile. If you can take a few minutes to read the article below – LEARN SOME SECRET INFORMATION from our experienced Dentists who have performed 1000s of Teeth Whitening treatments and given important teeth whitening advice for over 20 years!
SO LETS GET STARTED!
#1 – FACT – TEETH WHITENING WILL NOT WORK FOR ABSOLUTETLY EVERYONE!
The first fact is Teeth Whitening will not work for absolutely everyone, but will work to a great effect for most of us. The best results with Teeth Whitening are driven by good healthy teeth with good outer layer ‘Enamel’.
The Key to whether Whitening work well for you:
- If you have Healthy Enamel
- If you have No visible fillings or Crowns or Veneers or Bonding – See more later on about this
- If you have Healthy Gums with no bleeding
- If you have No surface staining from tartar, tea/coffee/smoking – Again we will tell you more about this soon!
#2 – SECRET – THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL WHITENING HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE DELIVERY METHOD!
So what do we mean by this! We mean – the way you choose to whiten your teeth has a huge impact on the effectiveness of your teeth whitening and the time it takes to get your teeth as white as you desire!
To start to talk about the method of whitening we first need to look at the different methods…
- Whitening Toothpastes
- At-Home – from Over the Counter including internet
- Professional At-Home from Dentist
- Professional At-Dentist Systems – more about the different systems we have tried over the last 20 years further on
- Permanent Aesthetic Treatments – like Veneers, Bonding or Crowns
All methods can be effective, but for how much and for how long is the real question
Let’s relate this to your car – it’s dirty… you want to wash it. You can take your car to the Drive-Through car wash – it’s quick, easy and cleans the surface of your car! Great you have a clean car, but it’ll probably still have some dirty spots. You could clean it yourself – at least you will get in there and scrub those dirty spots off, but I’m sure you’ll get a little lazy and not quite finish the job, or if you paid a professional to clean your car – you will come away with a spotless, perfectly polished shiny car! Most likely it will even be vacuumed! I know which option I would choose!
#3 – FACT – CROWNS AND VENEERS CANNOT BE WHITENED
Caps, Crowns or Veneers cannot be whitened! If you have Dental Caps, Crowns, Veneers, Fillings or Dental Bonding – whitening treatments cannot whiten these areas. The material used when making these dental treatment options are made to match the surrounding teeth and once they are made to that colour, they cannot be changed. So DON’T BE FOOLED into thinking you can change the colour of your teeth if you have these treatments!
Teeth whitening however, will not damage your other dental work, so if you are trying to whiten your surrounding teeth, then whitening may be an option. Make sure you speak with your Dentist before doing this, as you may need to replace any dental work so it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb, after whitening!
#4 – FACT – LED LIGHTS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR EXPERIENCE
LED lights really do work when combined with the right active ingredients at the right concentrations levels! And this option I’m afraid is ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THE DENTIST!
So all those gimmicky little mouth devices with white or blue lights that you see advertised all over the internet or the supermarket shelf with Hollywood Actors and Actresses promising ridiculous statements like – up to 10 shades whiter in 10 minutes might seem like they work, but realistically they really are just gimmicks!
Philips Zoom Whitening has been marketed world-wide for over 20 years, the use of the ‘LED Light’ has been engraved in our thoughts and minds! However, what every other little device doesn’t have that Professional Teeth Whitening systems like Philips Zoom Whitening has is the right amount of active ingredients in the whitening gel that is only available from the Dentist. This my friends is the secret to LED light success!
OK, SO I KEEP TALKING ABOUT PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING! WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?
Professional Teeth Whitening is the simplest cosmetic dental treatment to enhance the appearance of your smile. Its primary purpose is to whiten your teeth and restore brilliance back to your smile all whilst being performed in the Dental Chair, under the supervision of a Dental Professional.
One of the most common Professional Teeth Whitening systems used in Australia and around the world – is Philips Zoom WhiteSpeed Teeth Whitening. Brisbane Smiles was the first Brisbane Dental Clinic to have Philips Zoom available for their patients more than 20 years ago.
This process uses an Advanced blue LED light-accelerated whitening system that has the ability to deliver dramatic and quick whitening results. This kind of treatment can reverse deep stains from food, drinks, ageing and even some medication discolouration, rather than just removing surface stains (coffee and tea stains).
#5 – HINT – TEETH WHITENING IS NOT JUST A PRODUCT – IT’S A TREATMENT!
Let us think of teeth whitening as a professional treatment! It is not just a product that you buy off the shelf! Teeth whitening isn’t going to work for ALL SITUATIONS! Similar to when you go to the Doctor for medical advice or when you are sick. Antibiotics are not going to work for all situations. First your Doctor will examine you. They will ask you ‘What is your concern I can help you with today?’. They’ll ask a few more questions and do a formal examination. Your Doctor might need some more information or tests to work out your best treatment options. Only after the Doctor can diagnose your problem, can they then offer the best solution – perhaps prescribing medication like antibiotics, or just bed rest or advise that nothing needs to be done.
Think of teeth whitening in a similar manner! Just like the Doctor can professionally advise and provide recommendations on treatment options, can your Dentists provide the same. Imagine if you didn’t go to the Doctor – what could have been the outcome?
This can often be the reason why teeth whitening might not work for everyone. Or if you have tried a whitening method in the past and it didn’t work as effectively as you may have liked. It may have not been the right delivery method for you.
#6 – FACT – THE BEST TIME TO WHITEN IS WITHIN 30DAYS OF HAVING YOUR DENTAL CLEAN
The BEST TIME TO WHITEN YOUR TEETH is just after your last dental clean, more specifically within 2 weeks! Your teeth have little mini pores just like a sponge. Imagine your teeth as a sponge. When anything that’s colourful touches that sponge – guess what happens! It absorbs that colour into the pores of the sponge! A similar process happens when you consume colour staining foods and drinks like red wine, coffee and tea, dark berries, red pasta sauces or tobacco from smoking. Over time the natural whiteness of your teeth becomes darker due to the absorption of these stains. These stains will NEVER GO AWAY unless you actively remove them.
#7 – SECRET – DEEP COLOURED STAINS CAN BE REMOVED!
Ok, so let’s go back to FACT NUMBER ONE where we talked about having no or minimal stains from drinks like tea and coffee or smoking. These types of stains will have an underlying affect on how effective your whitening treatment is – and the reason is quite simple! Do you want to spend valuable time and money getting rid of the minimal surface stains on your teeth? Or the deep-down stains that have been absorbed into your teeth pores like the sponge? I bet you want to remove those deep-down stains from years of eating and drinking colour staining foods and drinks.
Well, the GOOD NEWS IS THAT THESE DEEP-DOWN STAINS CAN BE REMOVED with the use of teeth whitening. BUT as mentioned in FACT NUMBER THREE! FIRST we must have a Dental Clean – this ensures that all those minimal surface stains have been removed and that the whitening solution is getting in deep into those pores in your teeth to break down the molecules that are causing the teeth discolouration!
#8 – MYTH – WHITENING TOOTHPASTES WORKS IN JUST 7 DAYS!
This could be true if you already have white teeth and you just want to maintain your pearly whites! But in most cases, the promises that whitening toothpastes make are not true. WHY? Because they have very little concentrations of the peroxide that’s needed to whiten your teeth. They generally are made to have an increase in particle size and are therefore more abrasive on your teeth.
Think of the particle size of toothpaste like small grit and larger grit sandpaper scratching against your teeth. The more gritty (whitening toothpaste) will abrade the stains very well away from your teeth.
Sounds great right! They’re removing the stains, that’s why I’m using them – I hear you say! However, the problem with these types of abrasive toothpastes is they are rather damaging the enamel of your teeth. The end result in using whitening toothpastes long-term is higher sensitivity. Whilst you may be removing the stains, your removing your enamel hence making your teeth more susceptible to sensitivity.
‘OK, SO I AM CONSIDERING PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING? WHAT’S INVOLVED?’ YOU ASK:
When you visit the Dentist for Professional Teeth Whitening – the first step should always be a ‘free’ whitening consultation. During this consultation with the Dentist and/or Oral Health Therapist – your Dentist will check to make sure your teeth are healthy and that you will get the results you desire. As said, not everyone is suitable for teeth whitening, and at this consultation your Dentist will make the judgment if teeth whitening is suitable for you.
If you are having Philips Zoom WhiteSpeed, the first step is to ensure your gums are protected from the hydrogen peroxide gel. First cotton rolls are placed into the sides of your cheeks to ensure your cheeks and gums stays dry. Then your Dentist will apply a resin barrier to the tops of your gums to make a barrier between your gums and teeth. Once this has dried it is safe to apply the whitening gel to your teeth. Your Dentist will brush this onto your teeth making sure that all parts of the front surface of your teeth are covered. This gel works by breaking down the molecular bonds that make up the stains on your teeth. Once the gel has been applied evenly and to all front surfaces, your Dental Professional will apply the advanced blue LED light. Your Dentist will shine this light up to four times, for 15 minutes each time during the one whitening treatment session. Between each interval, your Dental Professional will check your teeth, and reapply the gel each time.
It is important not to move your tongue around while you have the peroxide gel on your teeth.
#9 – MYTH – ALL TAKE-HOME TEETH WHITENING TREATMENTS ARE CONSIDERED EQUAL!
Well, I’m sure by now you can guess the answer to this myth. Nope – not all take-home teeth whitening treatments are considered equal. Actually, you couldn’t get further from the truth!
Supermarket and Pharmacy Take-home kits could possibly have similar results to each other, however Take-Home kits from the Dentist are far better quality than the rest. Why?
If your Dentist took an impression or digital scan of your teeth while you were getting your teeth whitened, then you most likely have a custom-made teeth whitening tray that fits your teeth perfectly! THAT’S the DIFFERENCE! CUSTOM-MADE! If though, you have bought a take-home kit from the internet or one that you must put in boiling water and insert into your mouth, then it is not going to fit properly. The whitening gel is not going to reach all your tooth surfaces evenly and you might even get gel onto your gums or other areas of your mouth.
The other reason is the gel concentration. Over the counter/internet bought products cannot distribute the same concentration of whitening gel as your Dentist can. Even with take-home products the Dentist can provide you with higher concentrations peroxide gels than over the counter, internet or store bought gels.
Your Dentist will give you a super-concentrated gel which is not available over the counter or on the internet.
#10 – FACT – TEETH WHITENING DOES NOT HARM YOUR TEETH – WELL DOES NOT HARM HEALTHY TEETH!
Many people think that teeth whitening is harmful and causes damage to your teeth. If the enamel is defective in any way, then damage can occur deep in the tooth. Teeth Whitening when used correctly on healthy teeth and gums and under the guidance of a Dentist is very safe and a very effective method to whiten and brighten your smile.
The active ingredients in whitening gels work to break down the molecules within the pores of your teeth. They don’t destroy or weaken your teeth, they merely dissolve the stains which lie within the pores.
There are however some side-effects that may make people think that teeth whitening is harmful. However, as said, when applied in a supervised and controlled environment, these side-effects are minimal.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE-EFFECTS YOU ASK?
Yes, there are side-effects when whitening teeth, and the side-effects are greater when teeth whitening is not performed correctly on healthy teeth and gums.
You could risk injury or uneven whitening if when using high concentrations of the whitening gel it isn’t applied correctly. If the peroxide gel comes in contact with your gums and other soft tissues in your mouth, there is a potential for chemical burns. When using take-home kits, customised whitening trays made by your Dentist reduces this risk.
Some people find that their teeth become sensitive during treatment and may also be sensitive for a few hours or days after treatment, especially during Professional In-Chair Teeth Whitening. If you are someone who generally does have sensitive teeth when drinking hot/cold you may have a higher potential to have this type of side-effect. However, it is easily managed and usually disappears within 24-48 hours after treatment. Just talk to your Dentist.
Another common side-effect whilst during the In-Chair treatment are usually described as ‘zings’ or ‘zaps’ in your teeth. These are more common towards the end of the treatment in the last hour of treatment and they may last a for a few hours later, especially on a colder day. If you are worried about this side-effect – talk to your Dentist, they will usually recommend taking some Panadol or Nurofen or using a Sensitive toothpaste prior to your treatment. This is not a permanent side-effect and does not last that long.
Another thought to remember – if you have had In-Chair Whitening in the past and this has occurred, as your teeth age, so do the nerves in your teeth. So, whilst you may have experienced sensitivity in your younger days, it may not be as sensitive when whitening in your 40s and 50s.
VENEERS TIP – WILL TEETH WHITENING GIVE ME THAT WHITE HOLLYWOOD SMILE?
Yes, teeth whitening can give you a nice white Hollywood smile – IF YOU ALREADY HAVE PERFECT TEETH! but not everyone has perfect teeth. So HOW DO YOU GET THAT HOLLYWOOD SMILE? I hear you ask… well, if you already have teeth with nice shape, length and colour – then whitening might just be all you need. However, if you really want that perfect Hollywood smile – then Veneers potentially are more of an interest to you.
What are veneers? Traditional Porcelain Veneers are a thin custom-made porcelain tooth surface that is bonded to the front surface of your tooth to create a beautiful, yet natural new smile. These are usually on the higher price bracket, but can sometimes be bundled into packages if you’re looking at 6 or more veneers. Porcelain Veneers are made custom for you by Dental Technicians and are colour matched perfectly to surrounding teeth or to the colour of your choice (Yes, you can make them as WHITE as you want them to be – the secret to the Hollywood white smile is the colour of your veneers!).
Other alternatives are Resin Veneers which is white resin being bonded and shaped to your tooth by the Dentist at the one appointment – a simple and cheaper alternative, however this option does discolour over time and has a smaller life-span than it’s porcelain cousins. Another option that has become quite popular due to the internet is snap-on veneers. These are kind of like a mouth-guard that you wear when you want to have veneers. They are not a permanent or long-term solution as they are not meant to be worn everyday. Ultimately though, when you go to bed each night, you will still have the same smile you are most likely trying to hide in the first place.
Veneers are a permanent solution, and not usually a treatment that can be reversed. They can however, transform a worn, discoloured, chipped smile into one beautiful Hollywood smile! When performed correctly by experienced Veneer Dentists, your new Veneer smile will last many years (15+ years) and look beautiful for their lifetime. Porcelain does not discolour, so the colour you choose your veneers to be is the colour they will remain – a very important choice! Resin veneers over time will absorb colour and do need to be replaced every 5-7 years for this reason.
If Veneers sound more like the dental treatment option that you want, then having a consultation with a Veneer Dentist is a good start.
#12 – MYTH – I ONLY HAVE A SMALL BUDGET, I CANT IMPROVE MY SMILE
No, for hundreds of dollars you can get Take-Home Whitening Trays from your Dentist! Even on a small budget you can improve your smile! The best person to discuss this with is your Dentist or Oral Health Therapist. Take-home Customised Trays can be an option on small budgets. A dental clean with some resin bonding can help improve colour and shape of teeth. Or even upgrading your toothbrush to an electric toothbrush with regular cleans can help improve the appearance of your smile. There are many options that can be looked at.
#13 – MYTH – I NEED TO WHITEN MY TEETH PROFESSIONALLY EVERY YEAR!
No not at all. Not if you look after your teeth, be mindful of what foods and drinks you consume, have regular 6 monthly check ups and cleans and use an electric toothbrush.
Saying yes to the option to include a customised take-home kit with your Professional Teeth Whitening treatment is a good idea, as it helps you top-up your whitening after each dental clean.
With good daily oral hygiene, regular cleans you may only need to have Professional Teeth Whitening treatments every 3-5 years or when you have a significant event coming up! Like your wedding, or a friends.
Your teeth will stay as white for as long as you look after them!
SO – WHATS THE VERDICT! IS PROFESSIONAL TEETH WHITENING WORTH IT?
Well! Is Professional Teeth Whitening worth it? Let’s have the results speak for themselves!
Let our team help you find the best method for you
If you want to know what is best for you then we have FREE TEETH WHITENING CONSULTATIONS set aside to help you. Just use the Online Appointment Schedule to reserve a FREE APPOINTMENT for your own personal TEETH WHITENING CONSULTATION
Our team would be more than happy to take a look at your smile and teeth and let you know what method will suit you the most.
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