If you are interested in whitening your teeth for the long term and you want a really good result, what I would recommend is coming to see a professional to get your teeth whitened, because with a professional, you are able to access materials that’s not out in the public. So the gel and the concentration of the whitening paste can be very effective to actually reduce the stains because there’s an ionic exchange between the gel and the internal surface of a tooth. That way, the colour shines a lot more and actually brightens your teeth for a longer period of time, so without need to actually abrade your teeth away.
Now the gel has got no side effect whatsoever. You might get some sensitivity. Patients who actually come and see us, because there’s a few groups of patients, 50 to 60% of them from my experience is that they don’t feel any pain or discomfort while we do the whitening. They might even fall asleep on the chair. There’s another 30 to 40% that might get a bit of sensitivity, but it goes away after a few minutes or a few hours. However, there’s a small percentage of patients that get a little bit more uncomfortable, and sometimes it starts getting an electric shock on the teeth. Now, that may happen, but it’s safe to say that the effect is not long-lasting. There’s no side effect to it long term. There’s no detrimental effect. It’s not going to kill a tooth. In fact, it’s all healthy.
So it’s going to be one of those things, if you want to get your teeth whitened properly, get it done with a professional because you don’t want to be ruining your teeth long-term because you’ve got only one set of teeth. You don’t want to ruin it at all.
So just to recap of what we’ve discussed just then, three things. Number one is tooth whitening paste a scam? Not really because you still get the benefit of having fluoride in it. However, you may not want to use it for a long term, because it can ruin your teeth long term, so short term might be okay. Finally, what would I do if I were you? If I wanted to get your teeth whitened, see a professional. That will give you the best effect and a longer lasting effect.
