1. In Office Whitening

The In-office procedure, usually takes an hour at The Gentle Dentist’s treatment room , a highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide (35%-50%) bleaching agent is used, coupled with a light source to activate or enhance the peroxide release for the whitening of your teeth. This bleaching technique guarantees you an instant result, but it must be followed by home bleaching to maintain its effect.

Advantages and Disadvantages

This treatment modality is usually more expensive but the instant result that you get is very gratifying. The possible side effects of in-office whitening is tooth sensitivity due to the high concentration of peroxide used but this tooth sensitivity is harmless, the bleaching did not cause any damage to the tooth, the tooth sensitivity comes from the cleansing and unblocking of stain containing in the dentinal tubule by the bubbling effect of the hydrogen peroxide .
The tooth sensitivity usually goes away within a week, it can also be minimised by the application of GC Tooth mousse (a paste containing calcium and phosphate derived from milk casein). Other desensitizing agents also work eg, Sensodyne tooth.paste (containing potassium nitrate and sodium fluoride and triclosan), Clinpro White varnish (containing Sodium fluoride 5%) and Clin pro XT varnish (containing resin modified glass ionomer with calcium Glycerophosphate) In order to maintain the effect of bleaching, you have to maintain it with a take home kit.

2. Take home whitening

In this treatment, a lower concentration and a different kind of peroxide (carbamide peroxide 10-20%), is usually used. This bleaching technique is more common because it is easy to perform and is generally less expensive for the patients. It involves a custom-made vacuum formed plastic bleaching tray, you load the tray with the gel daily and wear it for about 30 minutes to an hour per day for 2 weeks.

Combined In office and take-home whitening protocol

This technique is used at The Gentle Dentist for better results with less side effects. However it is advisable to inform the patient that the success rate may vary and some whitening procedures may show different results. For this technique the dentist will use a shade guide to determine the color in office-whitening procedure is performed first (35% hydrogen peroxide) after that and prior to insert the whitening tray. The tray is then loaded with the gel and placed into the mouth this takes 3 days for the (10% carbamide peroxide). The patient should be instructed to remove the trays immediately if any discomfort occurs and load a desenzitizing agent.>( eg, Sensodyne ) paste (containing potassium nitrate and sodium fluoride and
triclosan), Clinpro White varnish (containing Sodium fluoride 5%) and Clin pro XT varnish (containing resin modified glass ionomer with calcium Glycerophosphate). According to the latest research there is no contraindication of whitening on mature tooth, however the age of 16 could be considered a safe age to commence tooth whitening.

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