Why is my teeth whitening not working?

**Georgina** · 04-08-2009, 06:27 PM

Hi

I started home teeth whitening one week ago and since then I have managed to do five nights of whitening. Each night I keep the whitening trays in my mouth for about 2 hours. My teeth have become a little sensitive but I can cope with that.

I have noticed very little difference in the shade of my teeth. I am concerned that my teeth whitening is not working. Are there any reasons why the teeth whitening is not working? Am I doing anything wrong? How can I improve my whitening results?

**Dr Vahid Motahar** · 04-08-2009, 11:54 PM

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

There can be several reasons for not noticing a big effect on your teeth. One is that with home whitening the effect is slow and gradual. So a lot of patients do not see a large and sudden noticeable effect because they see their teeth everyday with little effect.
The second reason is that the gel that is used must be kept at low temperatures all the time and be kept in the fridge. If the gel has been kept out of the fridge for long specially in the summer months then the effect of the gel is greatly reduced.
The third reason can be that the fit of the trays are not of high standard and as good as they should be.
The fourth reason can be the nature of the teeth. Blue and grey coloured teeth are much more difficult and time consuming to whiten than yellow coloured teeth. If you have greyish teeth the effect will take much longer to treat and the response will be much slower.
These are some of the reasons and I hope it addresses your question to some degree. Alternative would be to see you and assess your case ourself.