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What’s The Difference Between Take-Home Teeth Whitening Kits At The Dentist Versus The Shops?

Posted on March 29, 2018 by - Cosmetic Dental

Take-home teeth whitening kits from the dentist are much different than those you can buy from the supermarket or pharmacy.  You may choose supermarket or pharmacy products for their lower prices, but you are not getting the same whitening product as you are from the dentist.  In fact, the only thing that is the same is that you use the product at home.  Here is why take-home whitening kits from the dentist are better than a supermarket or pharmacy alternative:

Higher Strength of the Whitening Gel

All teeth whitening products contain some sort of peroxide as the main ingredient to bleach the teeth.  The main difference is the concentration of peroxide allowed in the product.  Obviously, the higher the concentration, the more effective the product is at whitening your teeth.  By law, only teeth whitening products given to you by a dentist can have the highest concentration of peroxide.  A dentist will examine your teeth and make sure a high concentration product is appropriate for your teeth.  Supermarket and pharmacy products have to be low concentration so there is less risk of adverse reactions from using the product.  However, it also makes the product much less effective.  You have to use a whitening product from the dentist to get the whitest result.

Professional Guidance

Take-home teeth whitening at the dentist is often termed professionally-guided take-home teeth whitening.  This is because the dentist examines your teeth before recommending the whitening option to you.  Pros and cons of the whitening option are discussed including risks for your teeth.  If any dental treatment is required before whitening it can diagnosed, discussed and completed prior to starting the whitening.  For example, a filling may be required due to tooth decay.  If the whitening gel got into the unfilled decay area, it would be very painful.  A dentist would not recommend you start teeth whitening until the filling was completed.

Custom-made Whitening Trays

For safety and the most effective whitening result, the trays in which you place the gel are very important.  A dentist will take accurate impressions of your mouth and make whitening trays specific to you and your teeth.  This ensures the best possible fit and comfort when wearing the trays and little risk of getting the gel in the wrong place.  The trays are trimmed to your gumline so there is little risk of irritating your gums or whitening the gums by mistake.  Supermarket and pharmacies kits use pre-made generic trays or self-made boil and bite trays where you heat up a generic one and bite into it before letting it set.  These are bulky, comfortable to wear and don’t provide the accuracy for safe and effective whitening.  When using these, patients tend to complain of teeth sensitivity and gum irritation due to the poorer fit of the trays and the whitening gel spreading to areas that shouldn’t be whitened like the gums.

So what actually happens during an appointment for Zoom in-chair teeth whitening?

Posted on March 20, 2018 by - General Dental

Exam to Check Suitability

Your dentist will check your teeth and discuss with you an information sheet detailing in-chair teeth whitening.  Your suitability for the procedure and any risks will be discussed.  Some people cannot receive teeth whitening, because they may be allergic to the whitening gel, sensitive to the special whitening light or have teeth that just won’t whiten very well.  Dental restorations such as fillings, veneers and crowns don’t change colour with teeth whitening and may need to be replaced after whitening.  If you have any dental problems such as tooth decay or gum disease, you will need these treated first before any teeth whitening.  For best results, professional teeth cleaning to remove any deposits on the teeth is recommended.

Protection of Soft Tissues

Only the teeth should be whitened.  A retractor is placed in the mouth to keep the lips, cheeks and tongue away from the whitening gel.  Barriers are placed over the retractor to shield the skin surrounding the mouth.  A soft barrier is applied over the gums and set to avoid the gums becoming irritated.

Teeth Whitening

High concentration teeth whitening gel is placed over the teeth and activated by the special Zoom light for 15 minutes.  Up to 3 x 15 minute rounds of teeth whitening can be done.  Each round the whitening gel penetrates deeper into the tooth to remove colour and whiten the teeth.  If you get any sensitivity, you can opt to finish the teeth whitening procedure early.

Maintenance

For the first 24 hours, the whitening gel can still be working in your teeth.  For best results, it is best to avoid coloured food and drink for this time.  To maintain your whitening result as long as possible, you will need to brush twice a day, floss at least once a day and have your teeth cleaned at dentist every 6 months.  You may opt to have in-chair teeth whitening done again every couple of years as your teeth slowly colourise again with food and drink.  Some people use take-home whitening gel in custom made trays every 6 months or so to top up their whitening result.

 

Dental Fillings Appointment Procedure

Posted on March 13, 2018 by - Preventive Dental

What actually happens during an appointment for a dental filling?

Numbing Up

Not every tooth that requires a filling needs to be numbed.  If the problematic part of the tooth is very small or a long distance away from the middle of the tooth where the nerve is, then there is no need for local anaesthetic.  In these cases you won’t feel anything at all besides a few vibrations when your tooth is prepared for a filling.

If you do require local anaesthetic, we will spend a couple of minutes rubbing some numbing paste on your gum where it will go.  The paste numbs the superficial gum a little before the actual injection is given to provide full anaesthesia.  We will wait a few minutes as well as test the area to make sure you are fully numb before we proceed with the preparation of the tooth for the filling.

Preparing The Tooth

If the tooth has decay or some damaged tooth structure that cannot be kept, it must be removed before placing a filling.  The tooth is then usually chemically cleaned and roughened with a special tooth conditioner which allows the filling to better stick to the tooth.

Placing The Filling

These days we use tooth coloured filling material called composite resin and glass ionomer cement or a combination.  A special band may be placed between the tooth that needs the filling and the tooth next to it.  This helps shape the filling and prevents two teeth being glued together so that flossing is still possible.  Filling material is then placed into the prepared tooth, usually in layers if the size of the filling is going to be large.

The material is either set hard or the setting accelerated with a special bright blue light.   Usually you will wear dark glasses to shield your eyes from the blue light.  The dental assistant may cover the area with an orange coloured paddle as well as you cannot see the bright blue through the orange.

Polishing The Filling

Your dentist will shape the filling and trim it to match how you bite together.  You may be asked to bite and grind your teeth on some blue marking paper which helps the dentist check whether the filling is fine in the bite or not.  The filling can then be polished.

Being artificial substitutes, fillings will always feel a little different to tooth structure, but you should get used it a new filling within a few days.  You won’t be able to eat or drink for 2 hours.  This gives the filling more setting time as some parts may be self-setting and requires more time to get to maximum hardness.  This also gives time for the numbness to wear off if you had local anaesthetic.  You don’t want to accidentally bite or burn your lip, cheek or tongue or choke on some food.

How to Clean an Oral Appliance

Posted on March 5, 2018 by - General Dental

Baking soda in a jar and spoon with a glass of water

Do you wear a retainer, mouthguard, occlusal splint or denture?  Does it look the worse for wear?  It may be discoloured, covered in a film or have white spots on it.  It may even have a taste and smell bad.  Usually these things are caused by a buildup of the same calculus that forms on your teeth.

It is best to bring your appliance to the dentist to have it checked and cleaned properly.  There are also brand name denture cleaning agents that can be used on all oral appliances but make sure you follow their specific instructions.  There are 2 home remedies you can try but please be careful otherwise you may damage your appliance:

Baking Soda

Baking soda can usually be found in most people’s kitchens as it is used as a leavening agent when baking.  It is a good disinfectant but is not as harsh and toxic like most household cleaners.  It is commonly used as an all purpose cleaning agent at home.  It works well against oral bacteria and neutralising acid which can damage oral appliances.

Mix baking soda with water to form a thick paste.  This paste on a soft toothbrush can be used to scrub the oral appliance.  Make sure you rinse off the appliance thoroughly after you do this as you do not want a lot of baking soda in your mouth after putting it back in place.

Baking soda in a jar and spoon with a glass of water

Baking soda is often used as a non toxic disinfectant, as well as for baking.

 

White Vinegar

White vinegar is very acidic so can remove surface buildup.  It also gently disinfects and can remove foul tastes and smells from the oral appliance.  However, vinegar itself has quite a strong smell so make sure you have a large area of open space where you use it on the appliance.

Mix an amount of white vinegar with the same amount of warm water to dilute it.  Soak your oral appliance in the mixture for 20 minutes.  A soft toothbrush can be used to scrub the appliance and then rinse thoroughly with cold water.

Bottle of white vinegar

Step 1. Plug up your nose, the smell of vinegar is strong. Step 2. Soak your oral appliance for 20 minutes in a white vinegar mixture.

 

Custom Dental Grills

Posted on February 27, 2018 by - Cosmetic Dental

When you want something for your teeth, be it a denture or a dental grill, the best place to go to is the dentist.  We have knowledge about your teeth and gums to ensure your custom dental grill looks great, fits well and won’t damage your teeth and gums.