Teeth whitening: Emma shares the best and worst of whitening

Teeth whitening: Emma shares the best and worst of whitening

Like all brides, Emma wanted to look spectacular on her wedding day, which meant that her teeth had to match her dress. So Emma took a punt on a new cosmetic treatment and came up trumps with a beautiful new smile for the ceremony. However, she warns us there is always a price to pay for beauty, even if it is small.

And the bride wore white

A month before her special day, Emma went to her dentist for a check up and he suggested she consider teeth whitening.

“I had slightly yellow teeth naturally, all my family do. I just wanted them to be really white for my wedding day,” Emma says.

“So I thought it was a great idea.

“The dentist fitted mouthguards to my teeth, like you do for sport, and it wasn’t painful in any way.

Patient experience: teeth whitening “He gave me a little ‘home whitening kit‘ and told me how to do it. You just put a little bit of bleach into the mouthguard where each tooth fits.

“I just popped the mouthguards in, both upper and lower, every night for half an hour, only for about two weeks.

“Within the first few days it was much, much whiter, and then by the end it was super-white. It’s possible they were a bit too white, but they do tend to dull down a little.”

So in just two weeks, Emma had a beaming new smile thanks to a little trip to the dentist for a check up. And on the day, her pearlies were just as perfect as her pearls.

Out! Out! Damned spot!

Emma tells us that there are a couple of things to watch out for during the two-week teeth whitening.

“While you’re doing it, you have to ensure you use special toothpaste because your teeth become very sensitive,” Emma says.

“You also can’t consume anything that may stain your teeth, like tea, coffee or red wine, or smoke.

“It was hard to give up coffee, especially at work. But for women trying to beautify before a wedding, it’s the least of your worries.”

According to Emma, while you have to stay away from the stainy stuff – at least you get a rather immediate result.

“The effectiveness is different for everyone, but for me, I noticed it straight away,” she says.

“The colour wasn’t uneven and each tooth was exactly the same; they looked really good.”

Something old, something new

Patient experience: teeth whitening Unfortunately, Emma has been left with a small new problem, and she believes people should be aware that teeth whitening can carry risks.

“I had never experienced sensitive teeth before I did the bleaching, but now I do have extremely sensitive teeth, and it’s been five years.

“I need to use sensitive toothpaste, which is expensive, and I’m stuck on that forever.

“Apparently, it’s just something that can happen. Not everyone will get it, but it’s a risk.

“You can also get some gum damage, so when you use the mouthguard you must make sure you wipe off any extra bleach. You can feel it irritating your gums as soon as you put it on.

“I also have receding gums now and it is sore on the exposed extra tooth, which I didn’t have before the whitening.”

Emma says that, in terms of financial cost, she was pleased her procedure only cost about $200. In terms of risk, she still says she’s happy she did it, despite the side effects.

So speak to your dentist if you’re interested in shining up the jewels of your mouth.

More information

For more information on various bleaching techniques for teeth, including home bleaching, assisted bleaching, power bleaching, the thermocatalytic technique and the walking bleach technique, see Teeth Whitening.

For more information on tooth sensitivity including causes, diagnosis and treatment, see Tooth Sensitivity (Dentine Sensitivity and Pulpal Disease).