Teeth Whitening in Tunbridge Wells — Look Like You've Had a Good Week

Professional teeth whitening is a dental treatment that lightens the natural colour of your teeth using a peroxide-based gel, prescribed and supervised by a registered dentist.

The gel breaks down the pigment molecules that have built up inside the tooth over years of eating, drinking and smoking, so the tooth appears lighter.

It changes the colour of natural tooth structure. It does not remove or damage enamel, and nothing is drilled or filed.

What kinds of whitening are available?

In-practice whitening. A stronger gel is applied in a single appointment with your gums protected, sometimes activated with a light. It takes around an hour and gives a more immediate change. It's often combined with home trays afterwards to reach and hold the final shade.

Which suits you depends on your teeth, your sensitivity, and how quickly you need the result. Home trays give more control; in-practice gives more speed.

Does teeth whitening damage enamel?

Professionally prescribed whitening at regulated concentrations is not considered to damage enamel. The gel works by breaking down stain molecules within the tooth rather than by removing tooth surface.

What can cause harm is misuse: excessive concentrations, badly fitting trays that leak gel onto the gums, whitening over untreated decay or exposed roots, or repeatedly whitening far more often than advised. All of those are reasons the treatment is supervised rather than sold over a counter.

Abrasive whitening products are a separate concern. Charcoal pastes and heavily abrasive "whitening" powders can wear enamel over time, and because the layer beneath enamel is yellower, wearing enamel away can eventually make teeth look darker rather than lighter.

Is teeth whitening painful?

Whitening itself isn't a painful procedure — there's no drilling and no injection. The common side effect is temporary sensitivity: short, sharp twinges, usually to cold, either during the course or for a day or two after it.

It affects a significant proportion of people to some degree, it's usually mild, and it settles once treatment finishes. If it's troubling you, tell us — the concentration can be reduced, wear time shortened, or a desensitising gel used alongside. Sensitivity is not a reason to stop wanting whitening, but it is a reason to have it supervised.

Persistent or severe pain during whitening is not normal and should be checked.

Yes. In the United Kingdom, tooth whitening is legally the practice of dentistry, and it can only be carried out by a dentist, or by a dental hygienist or dental therapist working to a dentist's prescription. Anyone who is not registered with the General Dental Council and who carries out tooth whitening is committing a criminal offence — and the GDC has prosecuted beauticians and salons for exactly this.

This matters for two reasons, and the second is the one that affects you.

The products are restricted, and for good reason. Whitening products containing or releasing more than 0.1% and up to 6% hydrogen peroxide may only be supplied to dental practitioners. The first use in each course must be carried out by a dental practitioner, or under their direct supervision, after which you can continue at home. Products sold directly to the public are limited to 0.1% hydrogen peroxide — which is a small fraction of the strength, and why so many shop-bought kits do very little.

Nobody has looked in your mouth. The regulation exists because whitening the wrong mouth causes damage. A dentist checks for decay, cracked or leaking fillings, gum disease and exposed root surfaces before treatment, because gel reaching any of those causes real pain and, in some cases, lasting harm. A salon is not qualified to make that assessment and is not legally permitted to try.

Whitening should also not be carried out on anyone under 18 unless it's to treat or prevent disease.

If you've bought a kit online or been offered whitening somewhere that isn't a dental practice, bring it in and ask. You'll get a straight answer about whether it's safe to use, at no cost and without judgment.

Mostly because they legally cannot contain enough active ingredient to make much difference. A product sold directly to the public in the UK is limited to 0.1% hydrogen peroxide. A dentist can prescribe up to 6%. That is a substantial gap, and it's the main reason people report spending money on kits and seeing very little.

The other differences:

• Fit. A one-size mouthpiece lets gel onto the gums, where it causes irritation, and off the teeth, where it's doing nothing.
• No examination. Nobody has checked for the decay, cracks or gum recession that turn whitening from uncomfortable into painful.
• Unregulated imports. Kits bought from overseas sellers sometimes contain concentrations that are illegal to sell here, with no oversight of what's actually in the tube.
• Abrasives instead of whitening. Charcoal and "polishing" products scrub the surface rather than lightening the tooth, and can wear enamel with repeated use.
• No plan for sensitivity. When it starts, there's nobody to adjust anything.

Whitening only changes natural tooth structure. It has no effect on dental materials, and that catches people out.

It will not lighten:

• Crowns — porcelain and ceramic do not change colour
• Veneers — porcelain or composite, both stay as they are
• White fillings — composite does not lighten
• Bridges — the same materials, the same result

If you have visible crowns, veneers or fillings in your smile, whitening your natural teeth will make those restorations look darker by comparison, because they'll stay where they were while everything around them lightens. That doesn't rule out whitening — but it may mean planning to replace or re-match those restorations afterwards, which is a cost worth knowing about before you start rather than after.

It also works less well on:

• A single dark tooth after root canal treatment — the discolouration is inside the tooth, and this usually needs internal whitening, a veneer or a crown instead
• Grey or banded staining from tetracycline antibiotics taken in childhood — sometimes it lightens a little, often it doesn't respond well, and veneers may be the more realistic route
• White spots and patches — these can become more or less noticeable after whitening, and are not always improved by it
• Staining caused by decay — that needs treating, not whitening

This is exactly the kind of thing assessed at the consultation, so you know what to expect from your teeth rather than from teeth in general.

Usually, yes, and it's often the single most cost-effective step. A hygiene appointment removes the surface staining and hardened deposits that build up from tea, coffee, red wine and tobacco. That staining sits on the tooth rather than in it, so whitening gel doesn't lift it — cleaning does.

Two things follow from that. First, some people find that a clean alone gets them most of the way to what they wanted. Second, whitening a tooth that still has surface deposits on it gives a patchy, unpredictable result, because the gel can't reach the enamel evenly.

Whitening also requires healthy gums. If your gums bleed when you brush, that's treated first.

Dental Hygiene in Tunbridge Wells