Teeth not white enough after whitening

[Anna 1988]

My dentist did zoom teeth whitening on my teeth about ten days ago. Initially I was very pleased with the results but now I am thinking that my teeth are not white enough after whitening.

Is it normal to have very white teeth after zoom whitening and for the teeth to fade back after a few days? Is there anything that I could do to make my teeth become whiter than they are at the moment. I guess that I am bit disappointed with my teeth whitening results, I suppose I expected better results after just ten days.

How long should teeth whitening results usually last? Is it possible that my teeth just can't become very white with teeth whitening regardless of what I do and how often I repeat the teeth whitening procedure.

[Dr Ehsan J. Esfahani]

Hello Ana,

Thank you for your post.

Teeth whitening results vary depending on many factors, some of which are outside the control of the dentist and the patient. Whitening results usually last from 3 months to 2 years.

After laser teeth whitening there is a degree of dehydration of the teeth which will make the teeth look very white. As the teeth rehydrate over the next few weeks there is always some degree of fading of the whiteness and patients often say ' teeth are not white enough'. This is the case for all the whitening systems I have tried. In fact I feel it is less with the zoom laser whitening system.

At the whitening consultation I advise most if not all of my patients to continue periodic home whitening after having the zoom teeth whitening. This is for 2 reasons

1) to maintain the whiteness achieved with the zoom whitening and/or
2) to improve on the whiteness achieved with zoom.

No one can tell you for certain how white your teeth will go, regardless of what you do and how often you repeat the teeth whitening procedure. However the most predictable and effective teeth whitening system in my experience is firstly zoom whitening followed with 2-4 weeks of home whitening with Enlighten gel.