Why a professional teeth whitening procedure is the best option.
Although it has been relatively common in the US for a number of years, it wasn’t until relatively recently that teeth whitening procedures became popular in this country. When they did however, it certainly generated a lot of interest, to the point where a number of ‘shops’ started to appear on the high street offering this procedure alone.
Unfortunately, most of these shops were staffed by insufficiently trained and unskilled personnel, resulting in a number of cases where patients were left in pain with burnt lips and gums from the whitening agent that was used in the procedure. Thankfully, these shops have now been made illegal and only a professional dentist, such as those at Beau Monde Dental Care, are allowed to perform this procedure.
Tooth Whitening Toothpastes
Understandably, when looking for methods to whiten their teeth, most people will look for ways that are as simple and convenient as possible. This is most likely the reason why a wide range of tooth whitening toothpastes can be found on supermarket shelves in Bristol and across the rest of the country.
Tooth whitening could not be more simple than using a whitening paste to clean your teeth, instead of a regular toothpaste, could it? Well, in a way, that is true, however, the big negative, which is certainly not advertised, is that these toothpastes actually contain only a very small amount of the whitening ingredient and will have a very minimal effect on the colour of your teeth.
Because toothpaste is usually left lying around and young children are prone to eating it, the law states that only a safe amount of the active ingredient is allowed. Whilst they do not hurt and may even help to delay repeat discolouration after a professional tooth whitening procedure, you should not expect a great deal from these kinds of whitening aid.
At Home Kits
The ‘at home’ whitening kits that can be bought at chemists, do contain a larger amount of the whitening ingredient and are certainly more effective than toothpastes. Whilst, on one hand, this is good news, the quality of these products can vary quite widely and, on occasions, the difficulty in applying these to yourself can result in the lips and gums being burned slightly by the whitening agent. This, as you can imagine, is very painful and, in our opinion, simply not worth the risk.
It should be noted that, although containing more whitening agent than toothpastes, the amount is significantly smaller than that used by a professional dentist.
Professional Teeth Whitening Treatments
At Beau Monde Dental Care, we offer two methods of teeth whitening. The fastest acting and most simple of these is the Wy10 teeth whitening procedure. This involves the gums and lips being protected prior to a whitening gel being applied to the teeth. This gel is then activated by the use of a special light and, in the space of approximately one hour, your teeth will be dramatically whitened and the results will be seen instantly.
Our other procedure is called Enlighten and combines a treatment similar to the above, along with the use of a fortnight’s worth of special trays which are worn at night and work to whiten your teeth whilst you sleep.
Naturally, our experienced cosmetic dentists at our Bristol practice will offer advice and instruction on how these are to be applied to make the experience as safe and successful as possible.
For more information about our tooth whitening procedures, simply call us on 0117 330 3495, or, if you live in the Westbury Park area of Bristol, please call in to our state of the art dental centre at 35 North View.