At ER Dental clinics, it gives us priceless joy when we provide our patients more reasons to smile. Our whitening services will help you improve the appearance of your pearly whites, effectively removing stains and discolouration. The result is a brighter and healthier smile that you deserve.
Our whitening services in our Tauranga and Omokoroa clinics are performed by our trained and qualified dental professionals. We use advanced solutions to make sure you receive not only effective, but also safe, fast and comfortable treatment.
Dr Riaan Kriek
Our whitening services can:
- Lighten stains caused by coffee and tea
- Remove discoloration caused by cigarette smoking
- Lighten yellow teeth caused by aging
At-home teeth whitening procedure
Our at-home treatment uses a personalized whitening kit to be applied at home by the patients. We recommend this solution to those who want to whiten their teeth on their schedule.
This treatment causes less sensitivity than for example a one-hour whitening procedure.
It also lasts longer than a quick in-office whitening procedure.
Every patient is different and every case is unique; we make sure each patient receives customized treatments to suit their unique teeth whitening needs and goals.
Contact us today for more information on our services or to set an appointment with one of our dentists. Our friendly staff will be happy to assist you.
Are all teeth whitening systems the same?
When it comes to teeth, we all want the brightest and whitest smile possible. Patients ask us every day about tooth whitening and the different systems available.
You have people advertising cheap teeth whitening on GrabOne. then you can buy whitening products over the counter. Or you can buy whitening toothpaste and all sorts of different whitening strips. Some people even apply “natural” home remedies that do more harm than good to teeth.
The market knows what people want, and everybody is trying to sell products with the promise of a whiter and brighter smile.
But the questions we get asked a lot are:
Will this work for me?
Are all whitening systems the same?
Which teeth whitening should I choose?
Let’s try to answer them in an easy-to-understand way.
Will this work for me?
Not every person is suitable for teeth whitening.
Certain conditions cannot be treated by external tooth whitening and require other treatments.
Restorations won’t change colour with whitening. Therefore, if you have any restorations on your front teeth you might have to consider replacing these after whitening.
Whitening can cause teeth to be sensitive. If you already have sensitivity, whitening might be impossible to do or may be achieved using only certain whitening products and medications.
Everybody reacts differently to whitening procedures, and for some people, it takes longer than others. Therefore it is advisable to use a system with flexibility built into it, to use a different bleaching agent if needed, or to apply it for a longer period.
Are all whitening systems the same?
The short answer is: no.
There are countless different whitening systems to choose from, and all vary in active ingredient and application methods.
To whiten teeth you need to add a bleaching agent to the outside surface of the tooth. The three main factors involved with this process are:
Active ingredient
The most common bleaching agents are hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide. These can be applied by professionals, i.e. dentists or hygienists. The concentration and choice of material will greatly affect sensitivity and whitening outcome.
There are other whitening products with a deficient concentration of the whitening agent that non-professionals can apply.
Method of application
The whitening agent is applied to the teeth surfaces and then kept there for a certain period to perform the whitening.
The two most common ways of professional application are topical in-office whitening and take-home whitening in trays.
In-office whitening usually lasts for an hour for multiple applications and can be accelerated with a blue light. This method will give you an intense whitening in one visit, but will usually cause the teeth to be very sensitive and also leave the tooth very porous. The open pores will act as reservoirs for colour-ants from coffee, tea, wine, cigarettes etc., so that the teeth quickly discolour again.
The method of take-home whitening in small trays bleaches the teeth over a 7-10 day period. For this, small custom trays are made to fit snugly around the teeth. The prescribed whitening agent is applied for an hour or more per night.
This process is slower but gives a deeper whitening with less sensitivity. It will also not leave the teeth as porous as with an intense one-session whitening. This means less relapse in the short term.
Once you have the small whitening trays, you can also do regular top-up whitening at home. This means you have more control over the outcome and longevity of your whitening procedure.