How To Whiten Teeth At Home

Professional teeth whitening treatment is available for you to apply in the comfort of your home

We suspect that some of you may have seen the headline and expected an article on the various DIY ‘home teeth whitening’ methods that are widely available on the internet.

We don’t recommend these at all, and in fact, in many cases, you are putting the health of your teeth at risk if you use them.

Some are positively harmful, using ingredients such as household bleach, whilst others may seem more benign, using natural ingredients such as lemon juice.

Unfortunately though, natural or not, lemon juice is highly acidic and will wear away the enamel on your teeth, leading to damage and sensitive teeth. Many others, of course, simply don’t work at all. Our advice is don’t risk it and take advantage of the home teeth whitening treatment that we offer at the Cygnet Dental Practice in Wickford.

By using a professionally guided tooth whitening treatment, you can be sure not only that you will end up with a smile you will be very happy with, but that it will be safe and you will always have professionals to contact if you have any questions along the way.

Initiating the treatment

Despite what some of the online advertisements say, it is important that you visit your dentist for a consultation before the treatment starts. Those that don’t risk starting their treatment with problems such as tooth decay, cracked teeth or gum disease. It is important that these are treated before the treatment commences. Not only is this sensible anyway for the health of your teeth, but applying whitening gel to a cracked or damaged tooth could also result in quite a lot of discomfort.

Your local Wickford dentist will examine your teeth and gums and, if they are happy that the procedure can go ahead, impressions will then be taken of your teeth and these are sent to a dental laboratory for the trays to be made that will hold the gel that is to be used. During the consultation, they will also discuss the outcome that you hope to achieve and adjust the treatment accordingly. This is important as not everyone wants an obvious and dramatic improvement, with some preferring a more subtle transformation that appears more naturally over time.

Your home treatment

Once the trays have arrived back at the practice, you will be shown how to use them and how to apply the gel. You can then go home and carry out the treatment whilst you watch TV or listen to music etc. You will need to wear these trays for an hour or more each day, depending on the advice you have been given by our cosmetic dental team. Most people start to notice an improvement in the whiteness of their teeth after a week or so, with the maximum benefit being seen at around a fortnight.

Most people don’t experience any issues during this treatment although some may find that their teeth become a little more sensitive. This should soon wear off after the treatment has finished and is usually mild and can be managed readily by most people. As mentioned earlier, if you have any questions during the treatment, please don’t hesitate to contact us; we are always happy to help.

Not for everyone

Although the teeth whitening procedure, perhaps popularised by celebrities, is the most popular cosmetic treatment that we offer, it may not be suitable for everyone. Although anyone (with a few exceptions) can have the treatment in an attempt to whiten their teeth, there are those for whom it might not provide the improvement that they are looking for. The truth is that this treatment works best on mild to moderate discolouration and although it will make improvements, anyone with badly stained or discoloured teeth may find that they don’t become as white as they would like.

Whilst anyone is entitled to try this treatment, we may advise some patients to have porcelain teeth veneers fitted instead. This will usually apply to patients with heavily stained teeth such as you might find with a long term smoker. Although this is an invasive procedure, unlike teeth whitening, it is the best way to achieve a long term whiter smile in situations like this. We are always happy to discuss this treatment with you should you find yourself in this situation.

Once again, we plead with you not to risk your teeth by using DIY whitening tips. At best, they won’t work and in many cases, may cause irreversible damage to your teeth. Dentists train for many years to provide cosmetic treatments and you can be sure that the outcome will be better and healthier for your teeth, than any advice posted by a teenager on Tik Tok!

If you would like to see how we can help you improve your smile with whiter teeth, why not book a consultation with one of our cosmetic dentistry team today. You can contact us by calling the Cygnet Dental Practice on 01268 733078.