The Faster Way To Whiter Teeth!

Our one hour teeth whitening treatment is really popular! Leave our Ipswich practice with a beautiful, brighter smile….

You may have looked at your teeth in the mirror recently and wondered what happened to that youthful sparkly smile of old?

If you have, you are not alone and certainly not the first.

Whiter teeth have been treasured throughout the ages and maybe surprsingly, various attempts at whitening teeth have been carried out in the past.

Amongst those attempting whitening treatments were the ancient Greeks (a mix of white wine vinegar and pumice stone), the ancient Romans (human urine!!!!) and some barbers in the 18th century attempted to whiten teeth using acid. As well as some of these being pretty revolting, even if they did whiten the teeth a little, serious harm was likely to have resulted due to the acids used eroding the surface enamel.

In the 21st Century, these are no longer used, although some teeth whitening toothpastes do use additional abrasives (a little similar to the ancient Greeks!) This can only remove surface staining though and not any internal discolouration and can still cause harm to the enamel on our teeth.

How can the Foxhall Dental Practice help?

Our experienced Ipswich dental team are able to help patients who wish to have whiter looking teeth, not only safely, but in a very short space of time too. Our fast acting treatment means that you don’t have to sit at home wearing a tray for a few hours a day for a couple of weeks. Both at home and in-house treatments are equally effective and safe (if used correctly) but our in-house treatment offers the opportunity to have whiter teeth in just a single hour.

How does it work?

There are two reasons why teeth look discoloured. The most well known, of course, is staining. This occurs on the surface of the teeth and can be caused by a number of things that we consume, whether this be red wine, coffee, cigarettes and many many more. Much of this can be removed when you hopefully have your regular six monthly scale and polish with the dental hygienist, although the whitening treatment will improve this even further.

Cleaning the surface of the teeth and removing any staining though is not the whole picture. Along with other signs of ageing such as greying hair and facial wrinkles (see our facial aesthetics page if you want to remove those), the inner part of our teeth naturally darkens over time. It will do this whether you smoke, drink coffee etc or not; it’s simply just a fact of life.

Once this part of the tooth starts to darken, no amount of brushing etc will be of any use in whitening your teeth. To improve the colour, it is necessary, in effect, to bleach this part of the tooth. Because of the potential harm that this could cause to the enamel if done incorrectly (and hence why you should avoid social media tips) it is essential that any teeth whitening treatment is carried out under the supervision of a qualified dentist.

The procedure

The procedure itself is relatively straightforward. After ensuring that you are comfortable in the chair, the dentist will first of all protect your lips and gums to minimise the risk of any of the active whitening ingredient coming into contact with them as this could cause discomfort. A whitening gel is then evenly applied to the teeth and a special UV light then used to activate it. The gel will be given approximately one hour to lighten the inner part of your teeth and will then be removed, leaving your teeth several shades whiter than they were before.

Will this procedure whiten all discoloured teeth?

Whilst this treatment should have a positive effect on any stained or discoloured teeth, it may not be as effective as you wish if your teeth are very heavily stained. It can also highlight flaws such as cracks and chips in the teeth if you have those.

There is an alternative treatment for those in this situation and that is the fitting of porcelain dental veneers. This is a very effective way of improving the appearance of badly affected teeth although it does sometimes require a degree of dental surgery. This can be discussed at your initial consultation if we feel that this is the best way forward for you to have great looking teeth. You are, of course, under no obligation to have the treatment should you decide not to.

Don’t DIY!

There have been a number of ‘dental tips’ on Tiktok recently and although none of those highlighted have covered teeth whitening, there is every chance that some may in future. Many of these, although seeming innocent such as using lemon juice, may seem harmless. But taking lemon juice as an example, this is highly acidic and corrosive and whilst it may whiten your tooth surface a little, you run the risk of severely damaging the enamel on your teeth. This could lead to an increased risk of tooth decay and also sensitivity and could make eating and drinking very uncomfortable. Our advice is don’t risk it, and consult our Ipswich dental team first.

If you are unhappy with the colour of your teeth and would like to take advantage of our one hour teeth whitening treatment, please call us to arrange an appointment at the Foxhall Dental Practice on 01473 258396.