What is teeth whitening?
Healthy and white teeth are important for a beautiful smile. Everyone’s teeth have a certain color. In time they may get darker due to internal and external factors such as tea, coffee, smoking and use of antibiotics. Special gels used in tooth whitening (bleaching) can lighten the teeth color up to 4-5 tones. You can get your teeth cleaned within 1 hour with laser treatment in our clinic or you may do it with a specially prepared whitening kit at home.
How many tooth whitening treatments are there?
There are three methods used for tooth whitening.
1- Office type (in a clinical setting) tooth whitening treatment
In our clinic, tooth whitening treatment can be performed in approximately 40 minutes in a single session, where the tooth gets lighter up to 4-5 tones. This method, also defined as office type tooth whitening, starts with the application of a protective gel to the gums around the teeth, so that the whitening gel won’t touch the gums and surrounding tissues. The special whitening gel, which is only applied to the tooth surface, is kept on the teeth for 40 minutes with laser exposure, after which the tooth whitening process is complete. After the tooth whitening process is finished, the gel is removed from the surface. Depending on the degree of tooth discoloration, a second session may be required.
But in general one session is enough to achieve the desired goal.
2- Home type tooth whitening treatment
After the measurements taken from the patient, the patient receives a tooth whitening plaque and tooth whitening tubes. The patient then applies the specially prepared gel into the tooth whitening plaques for a total of one week, after which he/she will get teeth that are 4-5 tones lighter. The duration of use varies from 5 days to 10 days depending on the degree of tooth discoloration.
3- Single-tooth whitening treatment
Intraoral bleaching method is used for teeth that previously underwent root canal treatment or experienced pulpal bleeding, which lead to discoloration of the tooth, due to trauma. Whitening gel is placed inside one tooth and kept there for 4-5 days. After that it is checked if the tooth matches the color of the other teeth. If yes, the treatment is completed.
Does tooth whitening harm the teeth?
Tooth whitening that is carried out under the control of a dentist does not harm the teeth. The used gels are tissue friendly. You can safely undergo tooth whitening under the control of a dentist.
How long does tooth whitening last?
This depends on how the consumption habits of the patients (colored drinks, tea, coffee etc.) and whether he/she is smoking or not. The white color after tooth whitening treatments disappears over time. This time is between 1 and 2 years. If you undergo a supportive whitening cure every 6 months, this whiteness will last longer.
What should be considered after Tooth Whitening Treatment?
To increase the permanence of the whiteness after tooth whitening treatment you should avoid colored drinks for at least 1 week. Black tea should be consumed as light as possible and dark drinks such as coffee, cherry juice, red wine, pomegranate juice and turnip juice should be avoided completely. If you are smoking, you should minimize it.
Will there be sensitivity and tingled of the teeth after tooth whitening?
There might be light sensitivity for the first 12 hours. A desensitizing gel will be given to you by your doctor. Desensitizing tooth paste can also be preferred. If patients with low pain threshold experience too much sensitivity, they may use pain killers the first day. The feeling of sensitivity will vanish after 12 hours.