Teeth whitening – do I have to get it done at the dentist?
Should I get my teeth whitened at the beauticians?
How about whitening my teeth at my local shopping centre?
Isn’t all tooth whitening the same?
As dentists, the most important thing to us is that your teeth are healthy. Healthy teeth are strong teeth, they last a lifetime and they are functional. As a result, we often suggest to have your teeth checked prior to doing any teeth whitening.
Our training has equipped us with the skills required to properly diagnose dental diseases. Problems such as decay, stained fillings or toothbrush abrasion (where you have brushed away the top layer of your teeth) can not only mean your whitening result may not be optimum, it could also leave you in a world of pain.
These days, whitening has become a multi-million dollar business, and many other businesses apart from dental practices have become involved. Beauticians advertise tooth whitening, tooth whitening appears on special online deals, and you can even go to designated ‘clinics’ that cater only for tooth whitening. I’m sure you have also seen the tooth whitening places in the middle of shopping centres also.
Whilst most beauticians or other people doing whitening would undergo some form of training prior to doing whitening on their clients, most people would agree they wouldn’t have the knowledge or training require to diagnose problems to do with the teeth. We don’t go to a beautician to get our filling replaced or decay cleaned out of our teeth.
As dentists, the idea of patients going to a beautician or other non-dental practice scares us! We worry that the people aren’t trained to detect dental problems, what if they have decay on their teeth and they don’t know this? The whitening could cause significant pain. What if they have staining on their teeth which can’t be treated by whitening? They wouldn’t be happy as it wouldn’t work very well.
Some of the inherent risks of teeth whitening at a non-dental practice:
Pain if there are undiagnosed dental problems e.g. leaking fillings, dental decay, broken/chipped teeth, toothbrush abrasion areas
Poor treatment result if there is pre-existing dental treatment e.g. Veneers, Crowns, Tooth-coloured fillings. They won’t respond to whitening.
Discolouration of the teeth that won’t respond to conventional tooth whitening e.g. Tetracycline staining, Fluorosis or Hypocalfication of the enamel
Before you make the decision on where you would like to have your teeth whitened, remember, you only have one set of teeth for life, and getting the treatment done by a professional will mean it will be done the right way the first time around, with a great treatment outcome too!
To find out more about whitening, visit our page on teeth whitening. To find out more, you can always call us on 6143 5655.
DISCLAIMER:
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
