Does teeth whitening damage the enamel of my teeth?

[Gabi]

Hi

I am considering getting teeth whitening done and I am in the process of deciding which system I should have in order to have the best whitening results long term.

I would like to have whitening results that are really good but I am so busy and I don't think that I will have the time to go through doing many nights of teeth whitening at home.

I have two concerns with regards to teeth whitening, one is that I am worried that teeth whitening will damage the enamel of my teeth. Does teeth whitening cause any long term damage to the enamel of my teeth?

Secondly I am worried about teeth sensitivity being unbearable and very severe. Do most people who have teeth whitening get tooth sensitivity or is it something that can be avoided?

[Dr Ehsan J. Esfahani]

Hello Gabi,

Thank you for your post.

We offer three types of teeth whitening at Pearl. Home whitening using enlighten evolution bleaching gel, zoom 2 advanced laser teeth whitening and enlighten evolution deep bleaching. All three of these systems have been used extensive on patients and no permanent side effects have been seen. Our bleaching systems can not change the structure of the teeth and therefore will not damage the enamel. Occasionally teeth become temporarily sensitive with teeth whitening and there are ways to reduce this sensitivity.

In my experience most people do not get severe sensitivity which is unbearable. Slight sensitivity to all forms of teeth whitening is expected and we provide desensitising gel and toothpaste with all our home whitening kits which will minimise any tooth sensitivity.

When you are teeth whitening you should use a desensitising toothpaste and also reduce the intake of acidic drinks and foods. At Pearl we offer free teeth whitening consultations 7 days a week.