Professional Teeth Whitening Geelong

DID YOU KNOW: While teeth whitening is considered a cosmetic dental procedure, the term “whitening” actually refers to the restoration of your teeth’s surface colour to break down and remove stains caused by ageing food and other factors.

Teeth whitening is ideal if you have healthy teeth, with no fillings, and healthy gums, and you would simply like a brighter smile.

At Myers Street Dental Clinic, Geelong, we can help you with a brighter more radiant smile with our at-home teeth whitening products and services. Professional teeth whitening is an effective way to boost your confidence and self-esteem. It is a popular dental procedure because it’s simple and quick.

What is teeth whitening?

Teeth whitening is a cosmetic dentistry procedure that helps to lighten teeth by removing stains and discolouration. All teeth whitening products contain peroxide, either as carbamide peroxide (CP) or hydrogen peroxide (HP).

Whilst many claim to have successfully whitened teeth using over-the-counter products, whitening treatments offered by your oral health therapist and dentist are typically safer and more effective.  This is because the products are stable, effective and contain a higher percentage of peroxide, Better still, safety measures are taken to ensure that the whitening ‘bleach’ products only affect your teeth and does not end up in your digestive tract where it doesn’t belong.

What causes tooth discolouration?

Dull, yellow and even dark grey stained teeth can be the result of many everyday factors, including:

• Smoking
• Coffee
• Tea
• Red wine
• Soft drink
• Certain antibiotics

If you have spent years smoking or are an avid coffee drinker, chances are your smile is not as white as it used to be.

At-home teeth whitening

Custom-made home-bleaching kits are made by taking impressions of the patients’ teeth and making a mould (or “tray”) to safely hold the bleaching agent against the teeth to prevent ingestion and chemical burns to the gums. This is safe procedure and whitening occurs over a few applications at home. You are in complete control of the dosage and frequency of bleaching, allowing you to change or stop the bleaching according to your own shade expectations, level of sensitivity and tolerance to the whitening procedure.

Some people prefer to wear the bleaching tray and bleach overnight as they sleep and others only want to wear their bleaching trays over a short period of time during the day. Your dentist will recommend an appropriate method and concentration of bleaching agent appropriate for your individual needs.

PLEASE NOTE: For teeth that are discoloured due to a tooth dying (“loss of vitality”) or having had root canal treatment, whitening via external application of bleach may not always improve the tooth shade. If this is the case, your dentist can also suggest alternative methods for improving the appearance of these discoloured teeth.