Teeth whitening

[stacey]

Hi,
I am 24 and my teeth are stained due to coffee and red wine. I am a glamour model and I am concerned about my teeth. I am looking to have teeth whitening. Can someone advise me what is available and the aprox cost and how effective is it.

Thanks in advance
Stacey

[Popadoopus]

Hi Stacey,

Welcome to the forums, I hope you find the answers that you are looking for here, hopefully some dentists will come on board with some feedback but here are a few pearls from myself.

Teeth whitening can give varied results and can give dramatic results for some, whereas it has minimal effects for others. The results also may vary depending on the type of whitening system used - zoom, enlighten, biolase...Without actually seeing a dentist it would be difficult to know the results you could expect. Costs also vary I have seen some clinics charge as little as £199 and others upto £900. I guess you get what you pay for and in most part you should expect to pay somewhere in between.

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Hi Stacey,

There are several options for whitening. On a basic level these include disposable trays, which are very effective. Custom made trays which again are very good, and power whitening. The power whitening generally gives the quickest result but is less stable long term.

Drinking tea and coffee certainly reduces the effectiveness of whitening although it is possible. this just means you will most likely need top ups more regularly. Red wine for some reason dulls the teeth very quickly, there are, however, some superb toothpastes available to help keep this to a minimum.

You can expect to pay between £125-£750 for tooth whitening, and many people such as myself offer interest free options to help spread the payment.

Disposable trays are certainly a good option, the only drawback being that you have no trays to keep and so top ups are more difficult. I do not perform power whitening due to unstable results, although others do believe in its efficacy and would be happy to perform this for you

Tooth whitening is a safe and easy way to boost confidence, a dental consultation is recommended first to ensure health of your mouth

Hope this helps, if I can be of assistance in any other way, please feel free to ask furthr questions

[Popadoopus]

Great advice Pav are there any tooth pastes that you would reccomend using to keep your teeth staining down to a minimum?

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Many over the counter whitening toothpastes are abrasive and do a lot of damage. The only one I recommend is a professional toothpaste called opalescence. It uses enzymes to break down superficial staining and keeps this to a minimum although it does not actually whiten teeth. I have many clients who use this product and are very happy with the results!

[stacey]

I have had a look at the different teeth whitening choices near me and some people are saying zoom is the best because they use a laser and others are saying that britesmile is better. Im not sure which place to go to now as I do not want to waste my money and i want to go for the one that gives me the whitest teeth. can anyone tell me which would be the best one to go for and why? I guess the dentists that use one particular brand will tell me theirs is the best becaus ethey want to sell it to me, so some independent advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help so far Dr Pav Khaira, do you think I should stop drinking coffee after I have me teeth whitenining or just cut down, the thing is I dont want to have this treatment and then be back to square one after having the coffee, do you think there is anything I can do to keep them white once I have had them done?

[stacey]

Oh I also forgot to ask one of teh nurses I spoke to said that it can be painful sometimes? is this true I cant see how teeth whitening can hurt - theres no needles involved is there?

[Dr Pav Khaira]

There are no needles involed at all. Tooth whitening can causes sensitivity which is normally not too uncomfortable.

Any sensitivity caused by whitening is totally reversible. If you have sensitive teeth to start with you will be more likely to have sensitivity during treatment.

Hope this helps

[tonyb]

hello Stacey which teeth whitening did you go for in the end and what were the resuslts like? did it make a huge difference?