Tooth Whitening (Bleaching): How to get beautiful white teeth

If you are interested in specific topics or if you want to read the chapter in sections, please choose from the following bullet points:

Why do teeth discolour or yellow?

• Individual tooth colour: Everybody has his innate tooth shade which can be brighter or darker.
• Ageing: teeth darken with age.
• Natural enamel deficiencies.
• Taking certain antibiotics (Tetracycline) in early childhood during the development phase of your teeth.
• Dental fluorosis through overdose of fluoride.
• Dead pulp or root canal treatment.
• Pigmentation from food or drink such as tea, coffee, red wine, and tobacco.

• Home Bleaching carried out by the patient at home. With the home bleaching method, the patient wears at night (or for 2-3 hours during the day) a made-to-measure, transparent bleaching tray filled with bleaching gel. The teeth are gradually lightened with regular use of the trays. However, during home bleaching sometimes sensitive teeth and gum irritation can occur. Regular follow-up by the dentist is therefore recommended.

Furthermore, bleaching methods divide into the following categories:

• External Bleaching (surface bleaching) of vital teeth. This is the usual bleaching method in which the whitening paste is applied from the outside to the teeth.
• Internal Bleaching (bleaching from the inside) of dead (devitalised) teeth.

ZOOM^® is a global market leader in tooth whitening. This system has seen over 1’000’000 successful applications so far. Our favourable experience prompted us to offer this method to our patients.
 

How does tooth whitening with ZOOM® work?

Firstly, the teeth are professionally cleaned and scaled. The gums are then coated with a protective lacquer, leaving just the teeth free. Following this, the light-activated bleaching gel is applied to the front surface of the teeth. The special ZOOM^® lamp is positioned directly in front of the patient’s mouth, exposing the teeth to intense light for 20 minutes. During this time, the patient must wear protective goggles. This special light source emits almost no heat radiation during treatment. The procedure is repeated twice more, each time with fresh bleaching gel, making the total treatment time 60 minutes. After treatment, the protective lacquer is removed from the gums and any remaining bleaching gel washed away.

What must be considered after tooth whitening?

In the first 24 hours after treatment, the enamel is somewhat rough and porous and can therefore easier takes on colors . Therefore, one should not smoke on the first day after bleaching and avoid highly coloured foods and beverages (eg beetroot, curry, berries, red wine, tea) . After 24 hours, the enamel is remineralised from the saliva getting smooth and resilient as ever and there are no more restrictions .

Case report from our clinic

This 17-year-old patient was unhappy with her yellowish teeth and desired a whitening by means of the ZOOM method.

First, the gums are covered with a white protective varnish, then the whitening gel is applied to the teeth.

During the whitening procedure of 3 x 20 minutes the patients bites on a plastic block so that the activating light of the ZOOM lamp can reach all the tooth surfaces. Listening to music on headphones can help relax.

After the bleaching, much to the joy of our patient, her teeth appear remarkably brighter.

Does bleaching damage the teeth?

Scientific studies unanimously prove that bleaching under a dentist’s supervision causes no long-term damage or loss of substance to either teeth or gums. At the most, there may be increased sensitivity of the tooth necks, which subsides after treatment. This mostly applies to periodontitis patients with gingival regression and exposed roots.

Home bleaching performed without dentist’s control can however cause side effects: painful, long-lasting tooth hypersensitivity is not uncommon and sometimes leads to the discontinuation of the procedure by the patient. The whitening tray can also sometimes bring on inflammation of the gums. Not to be underestimated is also the risk of over-bleaching. If bleached too long at home or applied a too strong whitening gel, the incisors can become transparent and let shine through the dark mouth cavity. An unaesthetic bluish-black transparence is then the result and this effect unfortunately is irreversible, ie. it cannot be undone.

How long does the bleaching effect last?

Depending on the tooth type and patient behavior (smoking, drinking tea, etc.) the effect of tooth whitening usually lasts from two to four years. Then the bleaching can be repeated without any problem.

After the ZOOM in-office-whitening our patients receive a pair of customized bleaching trays for the home bleaching. So they can maintain easily and without additional expense the result obtained with occasional home bleaching.

Are all teeth suitable for bleaching?

Only natural teeth can be whitened, not foreign materials such as resin or ceramic. Smaller composite fillings usually are not a problem, adapting well to the surrounding colour. Large front tooth fillings or crowns can appear somewhat darker in comparison to the whitened adjecent teeth. Yellow or brownish teeth with uniform (homogeneous) colour are particularly suitable for whitening whereas the visible effect is less striking with grey dicolourations. Streaky or mottled teeth will become brighter but maintain their irregular colour pattern. Here sometimes an additional microabrasion can be indicated.

If your teeth are very transparent (thin enamel) caution is mandatory. An over-bleaching would even increase this transparency of the teeth letting shine through the dark oral cavity with an unfavourable aesthetic outcome. For this reason, the whitending procedure should be performed only by trained staff.

Who should avoid tooth bleaching?

During pregnancy or in the presence of severe systemic diseases no tooth whitening should be performed.

How much does teeth whitening cost?

For CHF 600.- we offer a professional ZOOM whitening of all teeth.

Moreover, we offer our patients an advantageous combined bleaching package consisting of:

• A complete teeth whitening in our practice with the Philips ZOOM technique.
• Moreover, you will receive a pair of bleaching trays for home bleaching. So you can comfortably rewhiten your teeth from time to time at home and keep the result of the bleaching over many years in an inexpensive way.
• This combined whitening package (ZOOM + home bleaching) is available for SFR 800.-
• In addition comes, if necessary or desired, a brief examination and tooth cleaning. Whitening is most effective on clean, tartar-free teeth.

The sole home bleaching is less expensive (about SFR 650.-) but not routinely recommended as for the reasons given above.

The charge for whitening a discolored non-vital (dead) tooth by internal bleaching can vary from SFR 300.- to SFR 500.-, depending on the number of sessions necessary. In addition, a filling must be placed to close the tooth.

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