Teeth Whitening

There are a number of reasons for tooth discolouration ranging from developmental to dietary. Regardless of the reason for your tooth discolouration, however, if you think that your teeth have gone from white to not-so-bright, it may be worth exploring teethwhitening. Extrinsic stains deposited on the tooth surface—typically from coloured beverages like tea, coffee and red wine; foods with colourants and spices; chewed and smoked tobacco; various bacteria or fungi and even some mouthwashes—can be taken care of with the help of surface treatments like hygiene and air polishing. Intrinsic stains that are internalised, however, need deeper treatments. There are a myriad of causes for intrinsic staining that are listed below, which are also the most common reasons to start your journey to a brighter smile through usually teethwhitening:

• Correcting discolouration of teeth due to developmental disturbances
• De-staining teeth that are discoloured during their development because of consumption of medications like tetracycline
• Brightening natural ageing-associated yellowing of teeth due to increased enamel translucency
• Lightening acid-erosion-related teeth darkening because of thinning of enamel layer
• Reversing discolouration due to trauma and injury to teeth
• Improving altered dental appearance due to dental fluorosis

All cosmetic dental procedures including teethwhitening have a single overarching goal: to improve your quality of life through better self-perception. Teethwhitening represents a procedure with a low barrier to entry due to its simplicity and because it is within reach for most of us. As such, there are a plethora of advantages that you stand to be at after undertaking teethwhitening:

• Enhancement in the oral-health-related-quality of life
• Improvement in social participation and engagement due to greater confidence in the smile
• Restoration of lighter tooth shade as a part of ‘active ageing’ in individuals showing age-related tooth discolouration
• Rehabilitation of traumatised teeth that have discoloured over time
• Reversal of teeth discolouration due to other causes including medications and fluorosis

Majority of the times, you will be offered at-home teeth whitening at Genix due to its ease and excellent results. Your dentist will begin the process of teeth whitening after a careful history—including questions to rule out allergies to any chemicals that may be used during whitening—and assessing your dentition for any potential issues. A discussion to understand the overall goals of treatment, and to explain the possibilities with modern teeth whitening techniques will ensure your perfect understanding of the treatment outcomes.

The in-office teeth whitening is usually completed in one visit.

The process of at-home teeth whitening is fairly simple and straightforward consisting of the following steps:

Appointment 1
Through history, check-up and discussion about the treatment possibilities

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Correction of any pre-existing or potential dental issues

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Impression or scan of your teeth to make a bespoke teeth whitening tray for you

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Manufacture of advanced teeth whitening tray at the state-of-the-art facilities of our teeth whitening partner’s dental lab

Appointment 2
Delivery of teeth whitening trays along with the gels, and a demonstration of how to place the gel in the trays and wear them

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Detailed instructions for wearing the teeth whitening trays

Appointment 3
Follow-up after 2-6 weeks to monitor if the desired shade improvement has been achieved

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Continuation of treatment if necessary

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You are ready to show off your sparkly smile to the world!

It is possible to buy top-up gels later if necessary provided the trays fit you well.

While there are records of various attempts having been made to achieve teeth whitening over ages, teeth whitening as we know it today has been commercially available since the late 1980s, with constant improvements and tweaks taking place to the formulations to improve the results and patient comfort. Peroxide-based teeth whitening formulations are the mainstay of the currently prevalent methods of teeth whitening. Stains in our teeth—called ‘chromophores’—are broken down into smaller, simpler structures when the peroxides are applied through the use of whitening gels. There are following ways of delivering the whitening agents to your teeth:

In-office teeth whitening

In-office bleaching is performed under the direct supervision of a dentist. This typically involves application of a high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (35-40%) for 15–20-minute periods over a 45-60-minute clinical session. This procedure can be repeated for multiple sessions until the desired whitening effect is achieved. In-office bleaching often results in a faster bleaching effect due to the high concentration of bleach that is applied with a single in-office bleaching

session resulting in change equivalent to one week of at home bleaching.

At-home tray teeth whitening

The widely used night-guard vital teeth whitening is indirectly supervised by the dentist but is administered at home by the patient. This procedure entails application of low concentration of bleaching agents (10-20% carbamide peroxide which is the equivalent of 3.5-6.5% hydrogen peroxide) loaded into a customised bleaching tray. These trays are worn 2 hours to overnight daily for a 2–6-week period. It is important to ensure adequate exposure time for carbamide peroxide as only 50% of it breaks down to its active components in 2 hours. The advantages of the at-home technique include reduced chair-side time, fewer adverse effects, and low associated cost. Though home bleaching may take a longer time to attain the desired whiteness, both in-office and home bleaching are equally effective whitening agents.

• Your existing restorations—fillings, veneers, crowns and bridges—may not change colour with teeth whitening and may need to be redone after the procedure if there is significant mismatch.
• Some patients experience dental sensitivity during the treatment and this is usually taken care of with the use of a desensitising toothpaste.
• The darker the teeth are at baseline, the longer the tooth whitening process becomes. Grey or blue staining is less amenable to bleaching than yellow staining.
• It may be necessary to delay composite bonding for a couple of weeks after teeth whitening.

Knowing the impact that teeth whitening can have on your self-esteem, Genix tries its best to bring this procedure with reach of as many people as possible. Keep an eye out for promotions that we run from time-to-time!