Teeth Whitening

Before undergoing teeth whitening a visit to a dental hygienist is required. She will remove pigmentation from your teeth as well as tartar and plaque in the oral cavity. She also educates you how to take care of your teeth in order for the whitening effect to last as long as possible.

Teeth whitening is performed in two stages:  first the preparation and second the actual whitening. The preparation stage takes about 15 minutes during which all soft tissues are covered and protected.

The actual whitening procedure takes up to 3x 15 minutes. First, the doctor carefully applies the whitening gel to the patient´s teeth. The patient then puts on protective glasses, and then the plasma lamp is turned on. The lamp emits an ultraviolet light which speeds up the whitening process. After the initial 15 minutes, the dentist turns off the lamp, removes all of the whitening gel and cleans the teeth. The entire procedure is repeated with a fresh amount of gel until such colour tone is reached with which both the dentist and the patient are satisfied.

The whitening gel infiltrates the loosened tooth structure where it attracts pigmentation and transports it to the surface or directly dissolves it. Extensive studies as well as clinical research have proven that teeth whitening is a safe procedure when performed under dentist supervision. It should not, however, be repeated more than once every six months. CMC recommends its patients to undergo teeth whitening once a year.

During the next two days after the whitening a patient may feel a higher tooth sensitivity before the structure of the enamel closes up again. During this period, food or drink containing high amounts of food colouring should not be consumed (e.g. raspberries, blueberries, red whine, coffee, tee etc.) in order to avoid any tooth discoloration.

Taking good care of your teeth and maintaining appropriate dental hygiene habits will prolong the whitening effect. In some cases, the effect can last as long as 5 years. On average, however, the whitening effect lasts two to three years. In the case of strong smokers and patients who drink an abnormal amount of coffee or tee, the original tooth discoloration can return even in 6 months.

In addition to professional whitening as described above, a patient can try teeth whitening at home – which is more time consuming – to be performed either during the day or at night. This procedure may last one to three weeks during which a patient is required to wear molds filled with gel that are affixed onto the teeth. In case of whitening at night, a patient is required to sleep with these molds every night for six to eight hours.  In case of whitening during the day, a patient is required to wear molds for an hour;  however, this form of whitening might not be compatible for everyone. The results after whitening at home are the same as those achieved with  professional care.