Here are some of the common questions that we get from patients interested in ZOOM teeth whitening or Professsional in-office teeth whitening:
- 1. Will ZOOM teeth whitening work for me?
- 2. Does it damage my teeth?
- 3. Will my teeth be sensitive?
- 4. Can I still drink coffee?
- 5. When do I need to do ZOOM teeth whitening again?
ZOOM teeth whitening is very effective, the distributors quote that 95% of patients reach B1 shade. This is about the lightest that a person’s teeth are without ever having had any whitening done. It looks very natural but is very white compared to the average colour of people’s teeth which is about A3. Therefore, ZOOM teeth whitening is going to make a dramatic difference for most patients.
Shade guides are divided into colour ranges A, B, C and D. Each range has a different undertone.
A – has a brownish tone
B – has a yellowish tone
C – has a greyish tone
D – has a reddish-grey tone.
However, when the shades are arranged from lightest to darkest, we get the guide arranged as shown below.
<lightest> B1, A1, B2, D2, A2, C1, C2, D4, A3, D3, B3, A3.5, B4, C3, A4,C4 <darkest>
When seen in black and white, you can see that the shades vary in lightness as well as colour. So, going from A3 to B1 is actually 8 shades. In some patients the end result will even be even lighter than B1. In these cases we have to use a newly developed bleaching shade guide which goes from lightest BL1, BL2, BL3 to BL4 which is very close to B1.
Teeth with a yellowish undertone will lighten better than those with a brownish tone. Teeth with a greyish undertone will have the poorest result.
At our Sydney office, before doing teeth whitening we will often take pictures to show before and after results. Some teeth lighten quickly with a strong teeth whitening solution such as the ZOOM teeth whitening but some need to be exposed to teeth whitening gel for a longer period of time. As we also give our patients customised teeth whitening trays, they can continue to whitening their teeth at home for the next few days for a couple of hours a day to get the maximum teeth whitening possible.
Teeth whitening does not damage the teeth. This has been proven by numerous studies done over the last 15 years. During the procedure, there may be some sensitivity which can last the rest of the day and sometimes overnight. This can feel like slight electric shocks on the teeth and is a result of the teeth being dehydrated and exposed to the teeth whitening gel. It does not cause any long term damage and desensitising toothpastes or gels will help during this time.
However, the teeth whitening solution is slightly acidic and can make the teeth more susceptible to picking up stains during or immediately after teeth whitening (both with ZOOM teeth whitening or take-home custom tray teeth whitening). For this reason, we advise patient to avoid strongly staining products while they are using the teeth whitening trays. Foodstuffs like coffee, tea, wine, beetroot, carrot and curries are best avoided during this time. Once you are finished with teeth whitening it is OK to eat as normal again.
For most people, it is not necessary to do ZOOM teeth whitening again as long as they do some maintenance or top-up teeth whitening. With Cosmic Smile Dental, you don’t need to pay for teeth whitening gel because we give it to you if you maintain your regular 6-monthly recare appointments! This is a saving of about $50 every visit!
It only takes 3 or 4 sessions of home maintenance to bring the teeth back to how they were when the ZOOM whitening was first done.
For those that do not have time to use the custom trays for maintenance or cannot tolerate wearing the trays, it would be several years or before the teeth might fade back in colour.
Take a look at our ZOOM teeth whitening gallery to see typical results or give us a call to find out if ZOOM teeth whitening is right for you.
