Before and After Bleaching

Bleaching agents usually contain carbamide/hydrogen peroxides( H2O2) which penetrate the tooth and can alter dental colouration. These agents should have a neutral ph in order to avoid roughness of the tooth and renewed discolouration.
Most often, discolouration is caused by frequent use of nicotine, coffee, tea and red wine. Usually  these stains can be removed by professional tooth cleansing.
Unfortunately, discolouration can have other causes as well:
a tooth can be inherently discoloured or by disease and the use of certain antibiotics may also cause changes in tooth colour; the enamel usually turns grey or yellow in these cases. Root canal treatment or a blow to the teeth can also darken them. In these cases, cleaning alone does not suffice to return the teeth to their natural brightness and we must resort to various bleaching processes by way of which considerable brightening may be obtained.

Bleaching Techniques:

Before bleaching, a professional tooth cleansing is mandatory in order to remove all plaque from the surface of the teeth.

In-Office Bleaching

At an initial sitting, an impression is made of the teeth  which our in –house laboratory uses to form a custom-fit mouth guard to which the bleaching gel is then applied. The patient  wears it for one hour a day, usually for two to three weeks.
After 3 to 4 days the tray is checked and results observed.

Note!  - Composite fillings  cannot be lightened; after bleaching they must be replaced due to the variation in colour of the mother tooth.

Possible side-effects:

• irritation of the gum
• hypersensitivity
• the use of coffee, tea etc. can cause a renewed darkening of the  teeth

Home - Bleaching

Teeth with root canal treatment require in-office bleaching. In this case the chemical agent is injected directly into the root canal ; this procedure  has to be repeated until the desired effect is attained.

Possible side-effects:

• over – whitening
• porosity of enamel
• renewed darkening