Teeth Whitening and Sensitivity

The active ingredient in teeth whitening is peroxide(carbamide or hydrogen-peroxide). Peroxide is broken down into water and oxygen. It is this oxygen that is responsible for the whitening effect as this oxydises the yellow stains and particles in the tooth’s structure.
When this oxygen is taken up by the tooth it causes a normal inflammatory response, that cansometimes maketeeth feel sensitive.

This reaction is normal and your dentist will usually warn you that your teeth might feel slightly sensitive during the whitening process, but always dissapears when the whitening is stopped.
The sensitivity can varies from person to person, but some people with sensitive teeth in generalcan experience a bigger response and care should be taken to help alleviate this for them.

What can you do if you experience sensitivity during your whitening process:
1. Skip asession or only use the whiteing every second day
2.ask your dentist for some desensitising products

There are a variety of productsyou can taketo relieve or prevent any discomfort.

a Product called “Tooth Mousse”can beused inside the whitening trays before and after you do yourwhiteningtreatments. It is best to start using tooth mousse a few days(5) before you start with the whitening if you want to minimise this possible side effect to a minimum. The cost for this product is approximately R200. Some patients also get really good results by using a high dose of Fluoride inside the trays.

What if my teeth are sensitive before I even get started?
People with already sensitive teeth should be very careful with instant or ‘1 visit’ whitening options. The peroxide concentrations are usually higher in these 1 visit options and a higher incidence of possible temporary sensitivity can be expected .
What you need is a gentle, powerful anda long term solution.
The best option then is to use a Home Whitening system that uses a low peroxide concentration that takes longer to whiten, but has a lower incidence of possible sensitivity. It is important to note however that all sensitivity will dissapear after 1-3 days when whitening is stopped.

Note of assurance
Teeth Whitening is a well established procedure in cosmetic dentistry. Almost all people that undergo cosmetic dental treatment have their teeth whitened first before any cosmetic procedure is started. Hydrogen peroxide(or carbamide peroxide), the active ingredient, has also been safely used for many years in the treatment of gum and other oral soft tissue problems.

Pleaseclick on the following link to learn more about the power of teeth whitening:
https://myteeth.co.za/index.php/myteeth/secondary/teeth_whitening_bleaching1/