At Orpington Dental Care, teeth whitening is a very important treatment.

Tooth discolouration is a common problem for patients who have had poor dental hygiene. It is also caused by food staining (tea, coffee and smoking are often to blame), fluoride exposure, dental trauma, antibiotics and aging.

Having badly discoloured teeth can have a big impact on your confidence, causing you to cover your mouth and suppress your smiles. Many people are turning to teeth whitening to improve their smile and confidence, and despite the lure of cheap over-the-counter whitening kits, it is a procedure that is best followed under the guidance of a professional.

Teeth whitening is wrongly thought of as something you can do at home with a kit bought at the chemists. At Orpington Dental Care, we carry out teeth whitening using a system called Zoom! This system can be carried out in two ways. You can have a power whitening treatment at the dental clinic, or you can do it yourself at home with a kit supplied by us.

Good quality, long-lasting teeth whitening can take time. Once you have had an initial consultation with us to assess the condition of your teeth, we take impressions of your teeth, and from those make custom-fit trays in which to put the whitening gel. These trays ensure the maximum contact between tooth and gel, and minimise spillage, which is a common problem with off the shelf kits. We supply you with a teeth whitening gel to apply for two weeks, which should be long enough to see results, if you wear the trays for a few hours every day, or, preferably overnight.

If you would rather, we can do the teeth whitening here at the clinic. The advantages of a power whitening session is that it only takes an hour, so you get instant results rather than having to wait for a couple of weeks and maintain the discipline of doing the whitening yourself. Also, as dental professionals we are able to use a more concentrated gel. We protect your gums and lips before putting the trays over your teeth. The active ingredients in the gel are activated by a UV lamp. You then lie back and relax for an hour while the gel does its work.

If you would like to find out more about teeth whitening in Orpington, please drop in or call us. We love to talk about how our treatments can help you.