Our Cost
€300

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Everybody loves a bright white smile, and there are a variety of products and procedures available to help you improve the look of yours. 

The options are as follows:

• In-surgery bleaching
• At-home bleaching
• Whitening toothpastes

Costs

Home Bleaching Kit using a custom fitted 'mouthtray':

We have recently negotiated more competitive prices from our suppliers and we can now offer a complete 'Home Bleaching Kit' including 12 days supply of whitening agent for €300.

You can now purchase vouchers for treatments & services - enquire online or at reception.

What is in-surgery bleaching?

If you are a candidate for bleaching, your dentist may suggest a procedure that can be done in his/her surgery. This procedure is called chairside bleaching and may require more than one surgery visit. Each visit may take from 30 minutes to one hour.

What is at-home bleaching?

On day one, impressions (moulds) are taken of your teeth. We then construct custom-fitted soft mouthguards (bleaching trays), which you wear ideally in bed overnight. These trays contain the bleaching agent which we supply.

Treatment time is generally about 2 weeks, although even after 1 week there is a noticeable improvement in most cases.

A follow-up appointment is needed to review progress. The treatment continues until the desired shade is achieved.

What are whitening toothpastes?

All toothpastes help remove surface stain through the action of mild abrasives. "Whitening" toothpastes usually have special chemical or polishing agents that provide additional stain removal effectiveness. Unlike bleaches, these products do not alter the intrinsic color of teeth.

In-surgery or at-home bleaching?

Studies show that the outcome in terms of whiteness is the same from both bleaching methods. However, for in-surgery bleaching, a very high concentration of bleaching agent is used (up to 10 times greater than home bleaching). It is our opinion that, as we don’t know the long-term effects of using this high concentration, it is safer to stick with lower concentrations.  Therefore, in our practice, we have decided to use only the at-home bleaching method.

Re-bleaching

Once you have whitened your teeth they stay good for between 1 and 3 years. However, you can ‘touch up’ your bleaching at any time so it is very important to keep your bleaching trays. Re-bleaching takes only a quarter of the time used in original bleaching to achieve a desired degree of whiteness.

Background & Safety Record

Prior to its introduction into the dental literature in 1989, this technique had been used for patient care since 1968. Laboratory studies published have shown no significant detrimental effects on teeth or restorations, and animal/tissue studies have shown no detrimental effects systemically or on oral tissues. However, it is advisable to cease smoking during treatment.

Recent literature indicates that this form of dentist-prescribed, home-applied bleaching, when preceded by a proper examination and correct diagnosis, applied with a properly-fitted prosthesis and monitored as needed by a dentist, is as safe as other accepted dental procedures or commonly ingested foodstuffs. Human clinical studies have shown 9 out of 10 patients have a successful experience.

Response Variation

Most persons using home bleaching experience some lightening of their teeth, even if it may not be to the extent they desire. However, not all patients are responsive to the treatment, and not all patients respond at the same rate.

• Some patients’ teeth get very naturally white, while other patients’ teeth (especially those stained by the antibiotic tetracycline) get lighter but retain a grey colour.
• Tetracycline-stained teeth are the least responsive.  Also teeth of a deep grey colour are difficult to whiten.
• Brown-fluoresced teeth and single dark teeth respond moderately
• Teeth discoloured by age, genetics, smoking or coffee stains are the most responsive to bleaching.

Teeth in the two "less-responsive" categories often require an extended treatment-time to achieve the maximum benefit.

Possible Side Effects

In approximately 65% of people using this dentist-prescribed, home bleaching treatment, researchers have noted two common side effects:

• The most common side effect noted is that some teeth may be more sensitive to temperature changes during treatment. However, sensitive teeth return to normal when treatment is terminated, and no long-term effects noted from this sensitivity (7-year recalls).
• For some patients the peroxide solution may initially cause some tissue irritation on an isolated portion of the gums. Chemical irritations may resolve in 1-4 days without cessation of treatment.

Limiting factors

There are no upper age limitations. Older people's teeth respond well, although some root surfaces do not lighten much.  The lower limit of treatment would be about 16 years of age. Bleaching is generally not indicated on primary teeth (milk teeth) except in trauma instances. Treatment is not recommended on pregnant women or nursing mothers because, in general, it is good practice to postpone all elective dental procedures during pregnancy.  Very heavy combined smoking and drinking makes a patient unsuitable for tooth whitening due to the fragility of the lining of the mouth.