The Whitening studio at Bodilight has been accredited as an Enlighten Professional Teeth Whitening centre. It is the only system in the world to guarantee that the teeth will get to a "VITA shade B1" which is the whitest shade on a regular dentist shade guide. The teeth look really naturally white after the treatment - unlike treatment where porcelain is used like veneers or crowns. The breakthrough is that the guarantee applies to every single patient regardless of starting colour, age, lifestyle or dietary habits. The procedure is simple and takes 2 weeks for 95% of patients.

• The dentist takes a special super accurate impression of your teeth and sends this to Enlighten's dedicated lab where new "super sealed" bleaching trays are made.
• The patient wears the trays for 14 nights and then visits the dentist on the 15th day.
• A 40 minute in surgery session using futuristic video glasses to sit back and relax watching your favorite music videos.

Amazingly the concentration of the gel the dentist uses in the Enlighten system is a quarter the concentration of most other whitening systems. This is possible due to the increase in permeability achieved by using the super sealed trays. Results last indefinitely as long as you wear the trays 6 nights a year after your treatment. There have been many celebrity clients including several high profile models and pop stars. Visit Enlighten's website on www.deepbleach.com.

 

Once your Dental Surgeon has given you a bleaching kit to take home with you together with your bleaching trays. It is essential that you follow the instructions given by your Dental Surgeon and the manufacturer’s instructions in wearing the trays and applying the bleaching agent. Below are answers to the most frequent questions.

How long should I wear the trays for?

This depends on the amount of lightening that you desire and the original shade of the teeth. If your teeth are quite dark or very yellow/ grey/ tetracycline stained it will take longer to bleach the teeth. If you are not experiencing any sensitivity you may wear the trays for at least 3 – 4 hours and if possible - sleep with the trays in your mouth. It is very important to remove all the excess material around the gums or the palate prior to sleeping with the trays.

The darker your teeth, the longer your teeth will take to get lighter. Tetracycline stained teeth can take 6 months or up to one year to bleach the teeth. Some teeth can whiten after one month. Bleach your teeth according to your own schedule. Some people put the trays in after dinner and wear them for the first hour while watching TV or doing the dishes. Then if everything is fine they replenish the trays and sleep with them in the mouth.

What do I do if I have any sensitivity?

Sensitivity of teeth is the most common side effect of home bleaching. In fact many patients suffer from sensitive teeth any way. This occurs usually around the neck of the tooth where the gums have receded. If the teeth become ultra sensitive you can place sensitive toothpaste into the bleaching trays for an hour a day. That will usually stop the sensitivity. Alternatively you can rub the sensitising toothpaste into the gum margins with your finger 5 times per day for a few days. If you are at all concerned, please contact your dentist.

What happens if the teeth do not bleach evenly?

If the teeth have white spots on them before bleaching, these spots will appear whiter during the first few days, however the contrast between the spots and the rest of the tooth will be less and eventually they will not be noticeable. Sometimes the dentist can do a special procedure called Microabrasion for you where the white spots can be more permanently removed. Ask your dentist about the procedure if you are concerned about this. You may notice new white spots occurring on the teeth while you are undertaking the bleaching treatment. These white spots were already present on the teeth before bleaching. As the teeth become lighter they become more visible. Do not worry. As the whole tooth itself becomes lighter these spots will fade. You may notice these white spots immediately after a bleaching session or in the morning if you have been wearing the trays for the whole night.

Some teeth may appear banded with lighter/ whiter areas. Again these banding are originally present on the tooth. As the tooth is dark these bandings are not obvious. As the tooth becomes lighter, the lighter parts of the tooth will lighten first followed by the darker banded area. After a week or so these will not be noticeable any more.

How will my teeth feel?

Normally the teeth feel very clean after the bleaching procedure. The bleaching materials also have an indirect effect on the gums in helping them to heal or improving the health of the gums. This is how the technique was invented as it was first used to heal gum irritation during orthodontic treatment.

What about my smile?

Your smile will appear brighter as a bonus. It is very rare, but sometimes the teeth do not lighten at all. If this happens and you are wearing the bleaching trays as recommended, you may need to try a different bleaching product or a slightly higher concentration of the bleaching material. The dentist can do a few “Power bleaching sessions” for you while you relax in the chair. Discuss this with your dentist.

If you have white fillings in the front teeth that match the existing shade of your teeth before you bleach your teeth, they may not match the teeth afterwards. This is because your teeth can lighten, but the fillings do not lighten. When the desired colour has been achieved, the dentist can replace these fillings with a lighter shade of filling material to match the new shade of your teeth. Normally the dentist will wait 2-3 weeks before changing the fillings.

How long does the bleaching last? Will I have to bleach my teeth again?

Normally the new white colour of your teeth keeps quite well. The effect is dependent on what has caused the teeth to discolour in the first place. If you drink lots of coffee, red wine, cola drinks the effect may darken slightly. Some patients do a top up treatment after 3-4 years. Some patients do not need to.

Does bleaching harm the teeth or gums?

Safety studies have shown that bleaching teeth using the dentist prescribed home bleaching technique is perfectly safe on the teeth, cheeks, gum and tissue of the mouth. The bleaching material has a ph, which is neutral. There are problems with the bleaching kits that are purchased over the counter. Although they are inexpensive, they normally contain an acid rinse, which can damage the teeth or thin down the enamel of the teeth. This acid rinse can be extremely harmful to the teeth and these harmful products can irreversibly damage and strip the enamel away.

It is not however advisable to bleach your teeth if you smoke. It is best to stop smoking for at least 3 weeks before commencing the bleaching procedure. Smoking causes the teeth to darken anyway and the effects will be diminished.

The technique of Bleaching Teeth is not for everybody. There are some situations where bleaching teeth is contraindicated such as where the front teeth are already crowned or where there are very large fillings on the front teeth or where the teeth are already excessively worn and there is tooth surface loss. The most ideal situation is where there is not much wrong with the teeth except for the colour which has become more yellow with age.