Treatment

Teeth whitening

A peroxide gel lifts the stain out of the enamel — in one session in the chair, or over a fortnight in trays at home. It is the only cosmetic treatment on this list that removes nothing from the tooth.

In the chair: 45–90 minutes
Visits: One
Tooth removed: None
Result holds: 1–3 years

What it is

Whitening is a chemical process, not a mechanical one. A peroxide gel is held against the enamel, breaks down the pigment molecules that have collected in it over years of coffee, tea, red wine and tobacco, and leaves the tooth structure itself untouched. Nothing is drilled, filed or covered.

What it cannot do is change the colour a tooth actually is. Enamel thins with age and the dentine beneath it — which is naturally yellow — shows through more; whitening lifts stain, but it works with the tooth you have. Grey discolouration from an old root treatment or from tetracycline responds poorly, and that is a case for a veneer rather than for a stronger gel.

Whitening is the first thing to try and the least you can do to a tooth. If it gets you where you wanted to be, nothing else should be done at all.
Prof. Dr. Coşkun Yıldız

Which one you need

In-chair whitening
A high-concentration gel applied under isolation, activated in cycles across a single session. This is the version that fits into a trip.
One appointment, visible on the day
Laser-assisted
A light source drives the gel harder, which shortens the session rather than changing what the gel does.
The same session, accelerated
Philips Zoom
A light-activated in-surgery system, and the one most patients arrive already having heard of.
A named system, one visit
Take-home trays
Trays made to your own teeth and a lower-concentration gel worn over a fortnight. Slower, gentler on sensitive teeth, and the trays are what you top up with in two years rather than flying back.
Gradual, and yours to keep
Combined
One session in the chair to do the work, then trays at home to push it further and hold it. The systems that quote the largest shade improvements are all of this shape.
The most shade change available

What happens to you

Two visits, and a wait at home in between

Before anything
The check-up first
Whitening gel over an untreated cavity or an inflamed gum hurts and does not work. A cracked or decayed tooth is dealt with before the gel comes out — which is also why this is a dental procedure and not a shop counter product.
The appointment
Isolation and shade
The starting shade is recorded, the gums are isolated and protected, and the gel goes on. The record matters: the difference is easy to see in a photograph and hard to remember without one.
45–90 minutes
The session
The gel is applied in cycles across the session, with the light where the system uses one, and you see the result the same day.
The first 48 hours
The white diet
The enamel is briefly more porous than usual, so coffee, red wine, tea and tobacco undo the work fastest in the two days when it matters most.
1–3 years
Topping up
The result fades slowly and at the speed of your own habits. With take-home trays a top-up is a couple of nights, at home, without a flight.

Before anything
The check-up first
Whitening gel over an untreated cavity or an inflamed gum hurts and does not work. A cracked or decayed tooth is dealt with before the gel comes out — which is also why this is a dental procedure and not a shop counter product.
The appointment
Isolation and shade
The starting shade is recorded, the gums are isolated and protected, and the gel goes on. The record matters: the difference is easy to see in a photograph and hard to remember without one.
45–90 minutes
The session
The gel is applied in cycles across the session, with the light where the system uses one, and you see the result the same day.
The first 48 hours
The white diet
The enamel is briefly more porous than usual, so coffee, red wine, tea and tobacco undo the work fastest in the two days when it matters most.
1–3 years
Topping up
The result fades slowly and at the speed of your own habits. With take-home trays a top-up is a couple of nights, at home, without a flight.

Before anything
The check-up first
Whitening gel over an untreated cavity or an inflamed gum hurts and does not work. A cracked or decayed tooth is dealt with before the gel comes out — which is also why this is a dental procedure and not a shop counter product.
The appointment
Isolation and shade
The starting shade is recorded, the gums are isolated and protected, and the gel goes on. The record matters: the difference is easy to see in a photograph and hard to remember without one.
45–90 minutes
The session
The gel is applied in cycles across the session, with the light where the system uses one, and you see the result the same day.
The first 48 hours
The white diet
The enamel is briefly more porous than usual, so coffee, red wine, tea and tobacco undo the work fastest in the two days when it matters most.
1–3 years
Topping up
The result fades slowly and at the speed of your own habits. With take-home trays a top-up is a couple of nights, at home, without a flight.

Before anything
The check-up first
Whitening gel over an untreated cavity or an inflamed gum hurts and does not work. A cracked or decayed tooth is dealt with before the gel comes out — which is also why this is a dental procedure and not a shop counter product.
The appointment
Isolation and shade
The starting shade is recorded, the gums are isolated and protected, and the gel goes on. The record matters: the difference is easy to see in a photograph and hard to remember without one.
45–90 minutes
The session
The gel is applied in cycles across the session, with the light where the system uses one, and you see the result the same day.
The first 48 hours
The white diet
The enamel is briefly more porous than usual, so coffee, red wine, tea and tobacco undo the work fastest in the two days when it matters most.
1–3 years
Topping up
The result fades slowly and at the speed of your own habits. With take-home trays a top-up is a couple of nights, at home, without a flight.

Questions

Will it whiten my crowns and veneers?

No — and this is the thing to know before you book. Bleach works on natural enamel and does nothing to ceramic or composite. If you have crowns or veneers in your smile line, whitening the teeth around them changes how well they match, and the ceramic then has to be remade to the new shade.

Does it make teeth sensitive?

Often, for a day or two: a cold-air twinge rather than pain, and it settles. Take-home trays at a lower concentration are the usual answer for teeth that are already sensitive.

Does it damage the enamel?

Not at the concentrations used clinically and under supervision. The risks are on the other side of the counter — an over-the-counter kit with a badly fitting tray puts gel on the gum, not the tooth.

How long does it last?

One to three years, decided by what you drink and whether you smoke. It fades gradually rather than dropping back, and a tray top-up returns it.

How white will they go?

Several shades, and the honest answer depends on what stained them and on the colour of the dentine underneath. Stain from food and drink lifts well. Grey from an old root canal or from tetracycline does not, and that is a conversation about veneers.

Patients

The people who already came

Six of our patients, filmed at the clinic and talking about their own treatment. They are the clinic’s patients rather than any one procedure’s — what each of them had is in the film.