Whitening

Overlay whitening is done using a special overlay (fitted to the Patient’s dental arch), which is filled with whitening gel. Patient wears it for about two hours a day for two weeks. Throughout all this time the Patient remains under the dentist’s care. This method is recommended for people who have surface discolorations.

A professional whitening set is made up of:

• A personalized set of overlays fitted to the patient’s dental arch which keep the gel in contact with the teeth. Additionally, the overlays limit saliva contact with the gel, which would lower its effectiveness by watering it down.
• Whitening gels with a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide. They can only be dispensed by a dentist. They are produced in syringes and only a small amount is added into the overlays right before putting them on.

Tooth whitening at home has many advantages. A significant advantage is that the personalized overlays only need to be made once, and all that needs to be done to whiten the teeth again is to buy the whitening gel. It is therefore the cheapest whitening method. However, it takes significantly more time and engagement from the Patient. The whitening sets let Patients preserve their white teeth at any time in any place. Overlays allow for changing the whitening substance.

It is worth remembering:

• A higher concentration of the whitening substance brings the effects more quickly, but also increases the risk of hypersensitivity. The lower concentration substance can safely be used for a longer time.
• It is best to start the overlay whitening after a professional cleaning at the cleaning. Proactive cleaning removes plaque, tartar and sediment that can stay at the surface and in-between the teeth.
• It is advised to brush and floss the teeth before whitening each time.
• Before begging the whitening a tooth inspection is necessary to rule out potential counter-indications for the whitening such as decay, cracks or gum illness. If the presence of any of the above is detected during the inspection, then the whitening must be postponed until after the ailment has been treated.
• To achieve optimal results, the Patient should avoid coloring food, drinks and refrain from smoking during the whitening and three days afterwards.

Beyond Pollus lamp whitening is recommended to people with deeper discolorations.

Professional whitening with a lamp allows for a significant color change in a short time, which is the main advantage of whitening at a clinic. This kind of procedure is always conducted by a dentist.

The procedure for professional whitening begins with checking for the exact tooth color. The dentist conducts a thorough inspection of the teeth and checks for any counter-indications for the whitening. Firstly, the teeth have to be cleaned. Secondly, gums have to be secured so as not to irritate them. Then the dentist applies a special gel with a high concentration of the active substance, and then applies blue light for 20 minutes to expose the natural whiteness of the teeth. The whole procedure takes 1-1.5 hours. It is completely safe, and the results are visible immediately afterwards.

In case of especially difficult discolorations it might be necessary to repeat the whitening session once or more. It also might be necessary to continue the whitening at home with the whitening onlays. The biggest advantage of the whitening at the clinic is that has the quickest results, and there’s minimal tooth and gum irritation. The disadvantage is that it is more costly than the onlay at-home whitening.

Whitening at the clinic should not be done if the Patient has:

• Hypersensitive teeth or gums. To avoid a hypersensitive reaction, our dentists may recommend onlay at-home whitening with a low carbamide concentration gel peroxide, which isn’t as irritating as hydrogen peroxide. In these cases dentists usually also recommend products which lower the hypersensitivity.
• Big, untreated cavities, which may cause hypersensitivity after the procedure.

An effect of whitening are white, shiny teeth of the Patient. This method of whitening is completely safe, which is proven by multiple studies done over the last couple of decades.

The whitening effect of the professional procedure usually lasts about two years. To preserve whitened color of the teeth for the longest time, it is crucial for the Patient to maintain a white diet for at least 48 hours after the procedure.

Simultaneously we recommend getting a set of personalized onlays to maintain, or even improve the whitening effect.

The whitening effect from the onlay at-home method is comparable to the effect of the professional lamp whitening. Clinical studies suggest, that long-term onlay whitening may even be more effective than one-off professional whitening, if the Patient adheres to the recommendations of the dentist.

Dead teeth whitening is done by getting the whitening product inside of a dead tooth. The product is changed every couple of days, depending on how much the tooth has to be brightened. The whole procedure, lasts 2-3 weeks, depending on the desired color. For the safety of the Patient the tooth which is to be whitened is controlled with X-ray photos, which is used to confirm an absence of inflammation and correct and leak tight filling of the roots.

Discolorations of dead teeth appear as a result of the dental pulp inside bleeding after injury. It can also be caused by certain medicine used in root canal treatment containing barium, iodine or silver. The natural discoloration can be yellow, brownish yellow, grey or brown, and one caused by medicine can be orange, red or dark red, or grey to black. The discoloration only affects the sick or dead tooth or teeth.