Teeth whitening

The concept of whitening toothpastes has been around for over 50 years. However, these original toothpastes were excessively abrasive and worked by removing stain and enamel layers. Modern versions of whitening toothpastes are much more tooth-friendly and, if used regularly, can help to maintain whiter teeth. The keyword here is MAINTAIN – they rarely whiten to any great degree. Whitening toothpastes contain detergents and a very mild abrasive to gently scrub staining from the surface of the enamel. In the concentrations used, none of these ingredients actually alter the shade of the tooth itself.

At Buckden Dental Clinic, we are delighted to offer Boutique Whitening. Dentist-supervised home whitening is the safest, most popular, and most well-researched whitening procedure.

• As with all dental procedures, the first step is a thorough assessment and diagnosis. The dentist will discuss all the treatment options and possible results prior to proceeding with treatment.
• If you wish to proceed, the dentist or nurse will then take an intra-oral scan of your mouth for the manufacture of custom-fabricated trays by a laboratory.
• Once the bleaching trays have been returned, the dentist will check the fit in your mouth. We’ll discuss with you the correct gel concentration to suit your lifestyle and go through the instructions on using the whitening gels at home.
• We recommend using sensitive toothpaste overnight in your bleaching trays for the first three nights before using the whitening gels to reduce the risk of any sensitivity.
• After using the gels for 2-4 weeks, we will ask you to return to the practice so we can review your results. Here, the dentist will be able to advise you on the ongoing care of your whitening shade.

Teeth can darken for a variety of reasons, one of the most common being external trauma. Internal bleaching is a possible treatment option for individual teeth after a root canal has been performed.

• As with the Boutique Whitening, you will be given custom-fabricated whitening trays and the correct gel concentration for your needs at the start of the treatment.
• When a root canal treatment is performed, the canals inside the tooth are sealed with ‘gutta-percha’. A small amount of this is removed before internal bleaching.
• Your dentist will then introduce the whitening gel into the pulp chamber of your tooth via the whitening syringe.
• We will give you instructions to continue whitening the individual tooth with your custom tray every two hours.
• In most cases, you will continue this for 2-4 days before using the whitening gel on your remaining teeth.

To keep your teeth looking their greatest, we recommend flossing, brushing twice daily, and occasional touch-ups with Boutique Whitening gels. These are professional formula products designed specifically to keep your teeth their brightest.