Dr Zaki Kanaan from our expert panel gives us 5 Top Tips to consider before tooth whitening. He tells us that we should take into consideration the following points:
The Law
For both ethical and legal reasons teeth whitening has to be carried out by a dentist and only in the dental practice. A dental check-up before the whitening is a must. Your oral health has to be assessed and any existing problems such as cavities, tooth abrasion, gum recession, exposed roots, broken fillings or exposed dentin have to be diagnosed and treated before bleaching. Left untreated they would compromise the whitening process.
If any of these conditions are identified your dentist needs resolve them first, after which they can carry out your Philips Zoom tooth whitening. Please also be aware that if you are nervous about dentists, tooth whitening cannot be performed under anaesthesia.
What would stop you having tooth whitening:
— Do you suffer from any allergies?
— Do you have gum disease, inflamed or bleeding gums?
— Have you undergone any recent surgical treatment on your gums?
— Do you suffer from tooth sensitivity?
— Do you have problems with your tooth enamel?
— Are you pregnant or breast feeding?
Dental restorations
You may not achieve successful tooth whitening if you have:
— Veneers
— Crowns
— White fillings and restorations
After treatment
In the 24 hours after treatment
— Avoid eating highly coloured foods (soy sauce, curry, blackcurrants, beetroot … if it can stain your clothes it will stain your teeth)
— Avoid drinking dark coloured liquids (tea, coffee, cola, red wine)
— Avoid smoking (which also stains the teeth)
Timing
Your session will take around an hour, but you need to allow 1 ½ hours for your appointment so that the dentist can review your oral health and talk you through the procedure. Please turn up 10 minutes before your appointment time as you will also be asked to fill in a health and consent form.
