“Home Tooth whitening is a great way of reversing the ageing process and rejuvenating the appearance of your smile. This technique is gentle, cost effective and safe compared with other whitening systems. Most of all it whitens teeth without the need for expensive porcelain veneers which require tooth preparation and regular maintenance.

Cosmetic dentists advise to aim for teeth that are similar colour to the whites of your eyes for a natural look.

Tooth whitening gives teeth a ‘frosty whiteness’ and it increases the amount of ‘white’ within the teeth. It is similar to viewing a picture of your smile on a TV screen and turning up the brightness control!”

Which tooth whitening do you recommend? Home whitening has the best scientific evidence for safety and effectiveness, it has been around for over 100 years!

Are my teeth suitable for whitening? A dental assessment is necessary to make sure you have no leaking fillings, no gum disease and all your dental work is in good repair, anyone who satisfies these criteria is ready for treatment.

What does the treatment involve? Impressions are made to make comfortable thin clear gum shields. Patients use these to apply a safe concentration bleaching gel that gently whitens your teeth. You can wear them during the day or at night and sleep in them.

How long does it take? This process usually takes two weeks, possibly 3 or 4 if you teeth have a lot of colour.

What is a gum shield? These are thin made to measure clear latex gum shields that have a snug fit over your teeth and hold the bleaching gel in place. You simply place a small blob of the gel inside the gum shield opposite each tooth and then put them over your teeth.

Day Time Tooth Whitening In our experience most people prefer Day Time Whitening. Simply wear the gum shields and gel as directed for one hour, then remove them, wash and dry them. Replenish the gel, and wear them for one more hour. Then stop, wash and dry the gum shields. Store them for the following day and repeat the process.

This method takes advantage of the maximum activity of the tooth whitening gel which occurs in the first few hours. This is the equivalent of wearing the gum shields overnight for 8 hours.

Night Time Tooth Whitening After brushing your teeth before retiring to bed, apply the gel and wear the gum shields whilst you sleep. This is easier than you might think. You can always try the day time approach, then once you are accustomed to the feel of the gum shields in your mouth you can easily sleep in them.

Will I need to repeat tooth whitening? The results last for several years, to put this in perspective only one patient has repeated the treatment in 10 years! There is some evidence that over the counter tooth whitening toothpastes may help maintain the lighter shade that you achieve after treatment.

Most people completed the procedure after 2 weeks. Some patients who have a lot of ‘colour’ in their teeth take up to 4 weeks to complete treatment, occasionally 6 weeks. They simply purchase additional gel which is relatively cheap.

What shade can I expect to achieve? Shade photographs are taken to record your original tooth colour and monitor the progress of your treatment. You will start to notice a shade change after 7 to 10 days, so it is normal not to see any difference in the first week of treatment. After 2 weeks most patient’s teeth are frosty white and 2 shades lighter. Patient’s are pleased with the results, some may extend treatment if they want to in order to go a little lighter, many patients request a subtle change and do not want excessively bright white teeth! You simply discontinue the treatment when you achieve the shade you want.

How safe is it – will it hurt? Although the long term effects are unknown the low concentration gel has been proven not to harm teeth, gums, lips or tongue. It is common for patients to experience sensitivity with ‘cold’, this is often short lived and goes away after a few days.

We hope this information helps you make good decisions about your dental care.

To arrange a consultation please call Hannah or Peter on 0151 423 1601

More questions? Email your questions or details to us via the contact form

If your teeth are healthy and you want to simply whiten your smile home whitening offers you the safest, cheapest solution at a fraction of the cost of movie star veneers!

What are the advantages? Home whitening using a safe concentration gel and the following advantages over the alternatives:

1. Safest and most effective technique
2. Easy and relatively comfortable
3. Uses a safe concentration gel
4. Cheaper than alternative techniques
5. Best longevity
6. Whitens all your teeth
7. Repeat treatment after several years is relatively cheap

Disadvantages of tooth whitening

1. It can make your teeth a little sensitive to cold for a few days
2. You have to remember to apply the gel!
3. You need to be patient, it’s a gentle technique
4. Some times dental work may be needed to prepare your mouth for tooth whitening e.g. to repair a leaking filling
5. If you have crowns, veneers or white fillings on front teeth you may decide these have these changed after tooth whitening to make their shade match your whiter natural teeth

In our experience the benefits of tooth whitening outweigh the disadvantages.

What are the alternatives to tooth whitening? Dentists use porcelain veneers or crowns to change the shape and shade of natural teeth. They are beautiful restorations but they are expensive and require tooth preparation. Impressions are taken, and the porcelain veneers (a bit like false-fingernails) or the crowns are cemented over your teeth. To change your whole smile you would need one per tooth. These are great if your teeth are already heavily repaired with fillings and maybe veneers or crowns.

What are the benefits of tooth whitening? An attractive frosty white smile can boost your self-confidence and make you look more youthful. It is a simple treatment that can knock a few years of the appearance of your teeth!

Are over the counter kits any good? Simple answer no. Bleaching kits purchased over the counter are such low concentration that they are unlikely to make a change in tooth shade.

The gel that dentists use is prescribed and not available to the general public. When there is already a dentist approved, good value and safe technique available to you it is false economy to try DIY tooth whitening. Dentists recommend tooth whitening is supervised and in any case you need a check–up to make sure your dentition is ready for tooth whitening. Every year a few patients are referred to us in pain and it turns out that this is due to unsupervised DIY tooth whitening that their dentist did not know about.

Mail order and internet gel can be very acidic and damage your teeth. Cases of this occurring are documented in the dental journals. Some kits contain materials that are intensely white (like white paint) and their effect is short lived and they are a waste of your time and money.

To arrange a consultation please call Hannah or Peter on 0151 423 1601

More questions? Email your questions or details to us via the contact form

Is any preparation necessary? Have your teeth professionally cleaned by your dental therapist or hygienist. Patients who have a visit with the hygienist or therapist for professional tooth cleaning are most satisfied with the results of their tooth whitening. It makes sense, teeth that are spotlessly clean enable to gel to come into contact with all tooth surfaces for whitening. If you smoke now is a great time to stop! Ask your Dentist or Doctor for advice, or call the NHS free smoking helpline on 0800 022 4 332. Start using a sensitive type toothpaste like Sensodyne, this helps minimise tooth sensitivity

How many visits? Usually 4 visits are necessary as follows:

Visit 1 – a dental assessment, impressions, shade recording and ‘before’ photographs!

Visit 2 – fitting the gum shields and demonstrating how to apply the gel

Visit 3 & 4 – review appointment and supervision over 2 to 4 weeks until you reach your new tooth shade, then ‘after’ photographs!

What is a natural tooth colour? Teeth are naturally a shade of yellow, it is a normal age change for our teeth to become more yellow/orange and stained over time.

Each individuals teeth will gain more colour at different rates, due to for example their dietary habits (tea, coffee, red wine, curry), a smoking habit. Similarly each person’s teeth will whiten at slightly different rates.

What type of teeth respond well to treatment? Teeth that have a lot of colour (yellow/orange) and low translucency whiten very well.

Can you skip a few days I am going on holiday? Home whitening is a very flexible technique and it does not matter if you skip a day or two, the result is exactly the same, it will just take a little longer to complete. The results will be the same.

What happens when the treatment is complete? Once you have reached a whiter, more youthful shade the procedure is complete and you simply discontinue the treatment. The whitening results are under your control, many people just prefer a subtle ‘lift’ in the appearance of their smile. When you reach the result you want you simply discontinue the procedure and return to see the dentist. Some patients want to make their teeth as white as possible to make and may choose to apply additional gel for another 2 weeks. In our experience most patients reach a stage where more treatment will not make any change in shade after about 2 to 4 weeks.

I have crown on my front tooth – can I still have tooth whitening? If you have a porcelain crown, a veneer or tooth coloured repair visible in your smile before tooth whitening it may stand out afterwards because these materials are colourfast and do not bleach and change shade.

This may put an additional financial burden on patients who may then need more dentistry after tooth whitening and we are sure to identify this before treatment commences.

My crowns are whiter than my natural teeth – can I have tooth whitening? Interestingly, the situation does arise where crowns made over 10 years earlier are great condition and don’t need to be replaced but the natural teeth have now become darker in shade. In this instance the natural teeth can be bleached back to the shade of the porcelain crowns and the crowns remain in service for many more years, extending their life and saving the patient a lot of dental fees.

Can very dark or ‘banded’ teeth be tooth whitened? If your teeth are very stained with yellow/grey bands it will take longer to whiten your teeth. Treatment is exactly the same as the Home Whitening Technique except it is extended over 6 to 9 months. This is very successful. It is also testimony to how safe the home whitening technique really is.

To undergo this treatment you will need to attend on a monthly basis and purchase gel until the treatment is complete. Sometimes very dark teeth require porcelain veneers in addition to tooth whitening. However, the benefit of tooth whitening first is that fewer teeth may require veneers and those veneers can be thinner, requiring much less tooth preparation because the veneers no longer need to disguise extremely dark teeth.

What is baseline bleaching? Before preparing teeth for veneers and crowns which are colourfast (you can’t change their shade after they have been made) it is a good idea to enquire if patients what to achieve a more youthful baseline tooth shade at the start of treatment. Tooth whitening I carried out, once a new baseline shade is established and this has settled over a period of two weeks new tooth coloured fillings, porcelain veneers and crowns can be made to match the new whiter shade.

What do I do if I have sensitive teeth? Tooth sensitivity to cold is the most common side effect of home whitening. In fact, many patients suffer from sensitive teeth any way. Sensitivity is usually short-lived and resolves after a few days. We recommend that you use Sensodyne toothpaste to clean your teeth for a few weeks before, during and after tooth whitening treatment. Always discontinue treatment and contact your dentist immediately in the unlikely event that you experience any problems. There are lots of ways to overcome sensitivity, for example apply the gel to your teeth every other day.

What happens if my teeth do not bleach evenly?

White spots – any white flecks in teeth before bleaching will appear whiter during the first few days of tooth whitening. Do not worry because as the surrounding tooth tissue becomes lighter these areas will fade. If the flecks stood out at the end of treatment there is other treatment to change their appearance e.g. tooth coloured repairs.

Yellow/orange roots – if teeth have gum recession and the roots are exposed these often have more colour. The root area is not made of enamel and does not tooth whiten. The roots will remain the same colour but the natural crowns will become frosty white.

How will my teeth feel? Your teeth and fillings will feel very clean after the tooth whitening procedure. The bleaching materials also have an indirect healing effect on the gums. In fact this whitening technique was invented by accident when an orthodontist was trying to heal gum irritation during orthodontic treatment with fixed braces. He noticed his patients teeth where becoming whiter too!

How will it change my smile? Your teeth will appear brighter and develop a frosty whiteness. This is a prerequisite for a youthful and attractive smile. For a natural appearance your teeth should be a similar shade to the whites of your eyes.

What about my white fillings, porcelain veneers & crowns? White fillings and porcelain veneers and crowns are ‘colourfast’. The tooth whitening gel will cleanse them but their colour will remain the same. Old repairs at the front of your mouth that match your original tooth colour will not match your frosty white teeth after treatment.

Dentists recommend waiting 2-weeks after the completion of tooth whitening before replacing restorations to match your new shade. It is important that you are fully aware of the cost of any restorative dental treatment that may be necessary so it is not an unanticipated financial burden.

Can everyone use tooth whitening? If you have great dental health then the chances are you would be suitable for tooth whitening. The ideal situation is where your teeth are healthy except for the colour, which has become more yellow/orange over time.

To arrange a consultation please call Hannah or Peter on 0151 423 1601

More questions? Email your questions or details to us via the contact form

Dr Smyth’s Liverpool dental clinic has over 10 years expertise restoring adult dentitions and helping patients achieve great dental health and beautiful smiles. There are lots of new dental materials and techniques to painlessly change the appearance of our smiles. Most of these cosmetic dentistry treatment plans involve a combination of the following:

Tooth whitening to make your teeth whiter.

Orthodontics to align the teeth with braces to create a harmonious arrangement of teeth.

Veneers are porcelain false finger nails that change the shape and shade of teeth, they glue on to the front of your teeth and involve a small about of tooth preparation.

Crowns are porcelain thimbles that glue over prepared teeth to make the strong, comfortable and great shapes.

Dental implants, bridges and dentures are used to replace missing teeth.

For more details contact Hannah on 0151 423 1601

Or email us via our contact form