Dr Michael Davies talks about a recent case completed in time for Christmas…
“Teeth whitening is a very rewarding service that we provide our clients here at FHDC. Demand has rocketed this year with more people using Zoom and Facetime and becoming more conscious of their smiles whilst talking.
This recent patient was concerned about the colour of her teeth. Over time they had taken on a yellow hue and she wanted them to return to a brighter and whiter colour.
We discussed the two teeth whitening options that we provide at FHDC, Boutique ‘at home’ Teeth Whitening and Enlighten ‘in surgery’ Teeth Whitening.
Boutique whilst very convenient as it can be managed at home, uses a weaker strength whitening agent than Enlighten, which can only be applied by a qualified dental professional within surgery. My patient wanted the guaranteed whiteness that the Enlighten service includes, so she opted for this.
The first step of teeth whitening is to establish what level of whiteness a patient’s teeth are. We use a set of tooth shade guides that are individually graded. In this case the patient had A2 teeth. We also discussed any previous tooth sensitivity as this would have needed managing with a desensitising agent if required. We didn’t need to.
There were no previous restorations (crowns, fillings, veneers etc), so I didn’t need to consider the management of these as previous restorations would not be whitened by teeth whitening.
Personalised whitening ‘trays’ were provided with a course of home teeth whitening agent which starts the lightening process. This typically takes two weeks. After this an ‘in surgery’ teeth whitening session is booked in for an hour at FHDC. During this session I carefully applied the higher strength whitening agent.
Most people do not know that it is illegal for non General Dental Council (GDC) registered dental professionals to provide tooth whitening in the UK. There is a good reason for this. Poor application could permanently damage teeth, gums and your tongue. For more information please read this article.
The results after the hour Enlighten session were immediate with a shade increase from A2 to B1+ (i.e. whiter than the B1 guaranteed by Enlighten).
The patient was delighted and left Far Headingley Dental Care with a beaming smile on her face. I must admit I was beaming too. I love delivering cosmetic dentistry solutions to my patients and seeing the transformation.
If you would like to book a teeth whitening consultation with me, this can be done online 24 hours a day via our website. Alternatively please call the FHDC reception team during normal opening house on 0113 275 1323″.
Mr Michael Davies
FHDC Dentist
BSc(Hons) Newcastle upon Tyne (2009) BChD Leeds (2015)
MJDF RCS(Eng) AFHEA GDC 258888
