Teeth whitening is a great, safe and effective solutions for certain types of teeth staining, leaving you more confident about your smile.
We provide professional teeth whitening to remove stains caused naturally over time and artificially by smoking, coffee and other methods allowing you to achieve a naturally brighter, healthier smile. Our team will discuss the most appropriate options for you during your initial consultation.
Specially designed trays are made to fit your teeth snugly. The whitening gel is placed within these trays which are worn for 1-3 hours a day, over 2-3 weeks to giving you a beautiful white smile. This gradual change allows you complete control over just how light you wish to go and the home kits, give you the flexibility to maintain the new colour of your teeth and never let your smile fade.
Zoom is the newest and most advanced method of whitening. Complying with with new European regulations on teeth whitening it is also the safest.
Here your teeth are whitened in the dental chair. A protective barrier is placed on your gums and lips, and a gel is placed on your teeth. A lamp is positioned over the teeth and this activates the bleaching process. After one hour you can expect your teeth to look a few shades brighter.
A combination of home and practice based treatments gives you the most optimum and long lasting results at speed.
Day is usually 6% hydrogen peroxide gel. Hydrogen peroxide is inherently unstable and will break down immediately once you place the whitening trays in your mouth The majority of the peroxide will be spent within the first 20 minutes of wear, but to experience the full effect of the gel, we recommend at least 1 to 1.5 hours of wear time. Whitening by Night has several different protocols, all designed for a minimum of 4 hours’ wear time, but best results will manifest from keeping the trays in overnight, so you can whiten as you sleep. Wearing for 6 hours or more at night will typically yield better results. Most manufacturers offer 10% carbamide peroxide gel, or a 16% carbamide peroxide gel – both designed to be worn overnight. These are the equivalent of 3.5% hydrogen peroxide and 5.7% hydrogen peroxide, respectively. Both gels will give you a fantastic white smile, but the 16% will get you there a little faster. If you suffer from sensitivity, the 10% is a better option for whitening your teeth.
In a word….yes! There are many over the counter methods that will give you the promise of pearly white teeth. Many of these will have little to no effect on the shade of your teeth. Most will simply dehydrate the teeth, and they will appear whiter for a short period of time, before quickly fading back to their original shade. At worst, these treatments can be very damaging to the teeth and gums. Teeth whitening is an act of dentistry– leave it to the professionals to ensure you achieve the best possible result.
When your teeth have white spots on them prior to whitening, there is usually one of two things that happen once you commence whitening – The white spots will disappear as the surrounding tooth whitens, and they become less noticeable, or, the teeth get whiter, but so too do the white spots, making them more conspicuous than they were previously. It is not uncommon for the white spots to whiten more quickly than the surrounding tooth structure. This can cause some distress to people, but this is short lived, and the usual treatment is to continue whitening until the rest of the teeth are at the desired shade. If the white spots are still visible after teeth whitening is completed, then there are treatments available, such as micro-abrasion, ICON or composite bonding to remove the white spots or mask them. This can be discussed with your dentist.
There are 2 options of teeth whitening that are dentist recommended, they involve a similar process of whitening your natural teeth to remove stains and become visibly brighter. The option you chose could be for a number of reasons, due to the timescale of when you were hoping to achieve your lighter shade and availability in your schedule. In-surgery whitening would take place under dentist supervision, can be completed on the same day and will bring your teeth several shades lighter. At home whitening can be done over a longer period will be more gradual and the tray can be kept and top up gels can be purchased at a later date. We find that the combination whitening of both these treatments offer the very best results.
White fillings and crowns do not whiten. If you have white fillings in the front teeth that match the existing shade of your teeth before whitening your teeth, they may not match the teeth afterwards. Translucent all-ceramic restorations such as veneers, inlays and overlays may pick up the whiter tooth colour with the so-called chameleon effect. If you are whitening prior to the provision of veneers and crowns, it will be necessary to wait at least 2-3 weeks prior to definitive shade recording to match any new crowns to your existing natural teeth. After completion of your whitening course, you may wish to return to replace restorations on the front teeth. In the meantime, there is likely to be a colour discrepancy between the shade of these teeth and the rest of the teeth. New trays may be required at additional cost if you wish to continue whitening after treatment as shapes of teeth may change during treatment. No responsibility by the practice can be taken for the mismatch of the colour of dental work after fitting if you over whiten your natural teeth after the fitting of the dental work.
As with any treatment, there are benefits and risks. Very long-term effects (years) are as yet unknown but likely to be insignificant as the active ingredient is rapidly broken down in the body. This type of treatment has been carried out in some form for about 50 years. During that time no significant adverse risk other than temporary sensitivity has been reported. Acceptance of treatment means acceptance of any potential long-term risk. Research indicates that using peroxide provided by a dentist to whiten teeth is safe. It is also safe to use on the soft tissues (gums, cheek, tongue and throat).
Balham Dental Studio
112 Balham High Road, SW12 9AA
| Monday | 8:30 am – 7:00 pm |
| Tuesday | 8:30 am – 5:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 8:30 am – 7:00 pm |
| Thursday | 8:30 am – 7:00 pm |
| Friday | 8:30 am – 5:30 pm |
| Saturday* | 9:30 am – 3:00 pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
*Open fortnightly on Saturday
Closed on Bank Holidays