Teeth can be safely bleached if carried out or under the guidance of an experienced dental professional; it‘s important not to engage in self-devised practices that helped your friends or neighbours – it might have helped once, but it is uncertain how long it will take for the consequences of unprofessional bleaching to manifest.
Before attempting a bleaching procedure, our dentists provide a careful examination, as well as the most suitable bleaching agents, systems and techniques.
Multiple research conducted in various countries concludes that teeth bleaching with CE and ISO certified bleaching agents is a safe and efficient procedure that causes no harm to the teeth or gums; it has no effect on the tooth structure and is only known to degrade colouring compounds and whiten teeth.
It should be understood that the safety of teeth bleaching is only guaranteed when performed at a dental clinic or under the guidance of your dentist who instructs you how to use these materials at home.
Exceptions in teeth bleaching
Only natural, healthy or repaired functioning teeth can be bleached.
The following teeth surfaces are resilient to bleaching are not bleached
- Dead teeth cannot be bleached; they are bleached from within by injecting the bleaching agent into the root canal. This procedure is usually carried out once in two years as the dead tooth loses it‘s colour during that time.
- Dental crowns; they may have to be changed or corrected as they tend to lose colour in the long-term.
- It is recommended that the bleaching procedure is performed two weeks ahead of aesthetic restoration; the dentist applying the restoration would choose a filling matching the colour of the bleached tooth.
Teeth cannot be bleached if there is a change in their condition
- inflammation of the gums (gingivitis),
- worn tooth enamel.
The aforementioned dental and health conditions have to be treated first, teeth bleaching can be performed afterwards. In most cases, healthy teeth are bleached after performing professional oral hygiene, i.e. having removed plaque and tartar.
It‘s risky to bleach teeth on your own
We also do not recommend to bleach teeth according to various found manuals as every organism is unique and the most suitable bleaching technique can only be prescribed by a dental professional.
The effectiveness of bleaching depends on the following individual characteristics of the patient‘s teeth which cannot be properly assessed by the patient himself, e.g.:
- tooth structure,
- thickness of tooth enamel,
- the resilience of colorants residing or absorbed in the teeth to the bleaching agent.
We strongly advise not to experiment with your teeth and your general health by using bleaching agents and materials that are possibly used by dental professionals at clinics or that can be obtained cheaper elsewhere or, worse, use „folk methods“. Without a professional assessment of your dental condition and the effects of the agent being used, you may damage the tooth enamel and your teeth irreversibly. Undoubtedly, your teeth can be repaired, however, it is best to keep them healthy as long as possible, rather than repaired.