Teeth whitening with trays: Show the world your best smile

Our teeth can get darker with age, often by stain and discolouration, but it can also happen if the dental nerve has been damaged or if genetics determine a natural yellow teeth colour. To treat this, some people may choose to have teeth whitening, a popular aesthetic dental treatment that aims to lighten teeth colour.

Here to provide an expert insight into professional teeth whitening with trays is Dr Anne Gormley, leading dental practitioner and facial aesthetics clinician. She explains when patients consider teeth whitening, what the treatment with trays exactly entails, and how effective it is, among other important points.

How effective is teeth-whitening?

Teeth whitening has been very common in dentistry for over 30 years and is now more popular than ever. In fact, teeth whitening treatment in men is one of the fastest growing treatments in cosmetic dentistry.

The results speak for themselves and patients are rarely disappointed. It has a high degree of success, producing wonderful outcomes.

When should patients consider it?

Usually, patients consider teeth whitening once they are over the age of 18 and can decide to proceed with the treatment for a variety of reasons, including formals, weddings and graduations. Very often, however, patients just want to lighten their teeth to improve their self-esteem and to make their teeth look brighter and fresher.

How long does the procedure take?

Generally, the whitening treatment takes three weeks to perform. However, the treatment can be extended to six weeks if patients do not wish to treat both arches every night.

How is teeth whitening performed?

The teeth whitening procedure involves constructing upper and lower customised trays. A dentist will then either take a scan or take impressions to produce the trays. At this point, the dentist will provide the patient with the material that will lighten his/her teeth. There is a choice of three different types of bleach material: 10 per cent carbamide peroxide, 16 per cent carbamide peroxide and six per cent hydrogen peroxide. All three materials contain the active ingredient hydrogen peroxide.

The gold standard material is the 10 per cent carbamide peroxide, but patients usually prefer the six per cent hydrogen peroxide syringe because this means that they only have to wear the trays between one to one and a half hours a day. On the other hand, the 16 per cent carbamide peroxide is used when teeth are dark or when the patient wishes for very bright teeth. However, sensitivity may be a bigger issue with the 16 per cent concentration.

All patients will need to wear the loaded trays four hours a night, and avoid eating or drinking while wearing them.

It is advisable to have the teeth whitening treatment performed by a dentist, for the trays are accurately made to fit every mouth, with special reservoirs to hold the bleach against the teeth as well as ridges to prevent the bleach from impinging on the gums. This reduces any risk of gum inflammation. The concentration of the bleach given by the dentist is also much higher than that obtained over the counter.

In comparison, laser whitening treatments have been proven time and time again to merely dehydrate the teeth. Results are also not permanent, which endorses the fact that the use of trays is the gold standard treatment for teeth whitening.

What is the recovery time like, and when can patients expect to see results?

Sensitivity during teeth whitening can be a problem and for this reason, it may be necessary to extend the treatment to allow time for the pain to settle. In some cases, the upper and lower arches are done on alternate nights, which gives the teeth a night off between treatments. Sensitivity usually disappears within 24 hours of removing the trays from the mouth.

In most cases, an improvement can be seen within the first week of treatment, but it generally takes the whole three-week course of treatment to see optimum results. Statistics suggest that there is still a 70 per cent improvement five years after treatment.

If you’re looking to get teeth whitening, and would like to know more about this dental treatment, don’t hesitate to visit Dr Gormley’s Top Doctors profile today.