bleaching teeth

Are you afraid that a whitening treatment at The White Smile Company® will have adverse effects on your teeth? You shouldn’t be, because if you undergo a treatment with us, its safety is guaranteed. We will explain why.

Bleaching of teeth has already been carried out in this way for more than 100 years. The only way to make your teeth whiter is to remove the discolouration from your teeth that has come from external sources, such as eating, drinking and sometimes also smoking.

If you have your teeth bleached by us, we will make your teeth as white as possible, without altering the structure of your teeth. During treatment only temporary effects occur and these are known as “clinically negligible”. This means that many things that you eat and drink each day already have a more significant effect on your teeth than one of our whitening treatments.

The effects on your teeth following a whitening treatment are as follows:

- During treatment, a low level “demineralisation” of the enamel occurs, but this effect is so small that the saliva (which also contains minerals) and the fluoride contained in our whitening gel, soon completely re-mineralise the enamel. Within 24 hours the mineralisation of the enamel is exactly the same as it was prior to treatment.

- In addition, a low level change takes place in the calcium/phosphate ratio of the enamel. For comparison, this change is just 1/6 of the effect that occurs after drinking a glass of coca cola (1µg/mm²). This effect is also “clinically negligible” and levels return to normal automatically within a few hours.

- The hardness of the enamel is the most important and the treatment does not alter this in any way. Since we only utilise substances that are pH neutral (pH 7), this hardness remains exactly the same.

These are guaranteed to be the only effects on your teeth if you have your teeth bleached at The White Smile Company®. You can thus be certain that your teeth will be in the same state as prior to treatment. The probability of dental caries does not increase, and the teeth will not absorb discolouration more quickly than was the case prior to the whitening treatment. The structure of your teeth remains exactly the same in both the short and long term.

The whitening treatment also has no adverse effects on fillings, crowns or other restorations.

Research shows that, apart from removing the preceding years' tooth discolouration, the treatment also diminishes the four most harmful bacteria in the mouth, that cause such problems as caries. Seen in this way, our whitening treatment even has a slight positive effect on the health of your teeth.

All substances with which we work are harmless to your teeth and are safe for the rest of your body. The substances we use are non toxic and only oxygen and water are released during treatment. These are substances that occur naturally in the body.
The plasma lamp that we use for the whitening treatment transmits no warmth or UV light, thanks to an in-built infra-red filter and a light frequency that lies entirely outside the UV spectrum. The light from our plasma lamp is, therefore, entirely safe for your teeth and for the rest of your mouth and body.

We can completely eliminate sensitivity during and after treatment. We do this by working with substances that counter sensitivity. In addition, during the treatment we ensure that we cover your gums and any exposed tooth necks extremely carefully with a protective layer, a so-called “cofferdam”. This means that we can be certain that you will not suffer from, for example, gum irritation or sensitivity of the tooth necks.

At The White Smile Company® we’re well aware that improving your teeth should be an enjoyable experience and certainly shouldn’t be one that you would later come to regret. Because who wants to have white but unhealthy teeth? That is why we take total responsibility for a safe treatment so that you won’t experience either short or long term adverse affects.

Does your dentist still have questions about the safety of a whitening treatment at The White Smile Company®? Then, ask him or her to contact us. We can inform your dentist about how we can guarantee the safety of your teeth.

In past decades, research has been carried out across the world regarding the safety of teeth bleaching. A number of the most important research studies are detailed below, which you can easily consult yourself via internet.

- Akal N, Over H, Olmez A, Bodur H. Effects of carbamide peroxide containing bleaching agents on the morphology and subsurface hardness of enamel. J Clin Pediatr Dent 2001;25;293-296.

- Al-Qunaian T. The effect of whitening agents on caries susceptibility of human enamel. Oper Dent 2005;30-2:265-270.

- Baldissara P, Catapano S, Scotti R. Clinical and histological evaluation of thermal injury thresholds in human teeth. J Oral Rehabil 1997;24:791-801.

- Basting RT, Rodriges AL Jr, Serra MC. The effect of 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching material on microhardness of sound and demineralized enamel and dentin in situ. Oper Dent 2001;26:531-539.

- Basting RT, Rodriges AL Jr, Serra MC. The effects of seven carbamide peroxide bleaching agents on enamel microhardness over time. J Am Dent Assoc 2003;134:1335-13342.

- Blankenau R, Goldstein RE, Haywood VB. The current status of vital tooth whitening techniques. Compend Contin Educ 1999;20:781-794.

- Bowles WH, Thompson LR. Vital bleaching: the effects of heat and hydrogen peroxide on pulpal enzymes. J Endod 1986;12:108-112.

- Cesar ICR, Redigolo ML, Liporoni PC. Analyses by photoreflectence spetroscopy and Vickers hardness of conventional and laser-assisted tooth bleaching. Am J Dent 2005;18:219-222.

- Chiesara E, Dayan AD, Duschner H, Maier H, White DJ. The safety of tooth whitening. Munksgaard: Blackwell, 2002.

- Chng HK, Yap AU, Wattanapayunkul P, Sim CP. Effects of traditional and alternative intracoronal bleaching agents on microhardness of human dentine. J Oral Rehabil 2004;31:811-816.

- Christensen GJ. Bleaching teeth: practitioner trends. J Am Dent Assoc 1997;128:16S-18S.

- Cobankara FK, Űnlü N, Altinöz HC, Özer F. Effectof home bleaching agents on the roughness and surface morphology of human enamel en dentine. Int Dent J 2004;54:211-216.

- Croll TP, Segura A. Tooth color improvement for children and teens: enamel microabrasion and dental bleaching. ASDC J Dent Child 1996;63:17-22.

- Feinman RA. Bleaching. A combination therapy. Cal Dent Assoc J 1987:10-13.

- Gökay O, Müjdeci A, Algin E. In vitro peroxide penetration into the pulp chamber from newer bleaching products. Int Endod J 2005;38:516-520.

- Goldstein RE. In-office bleaching: where we came from, where we are today. J Am Dent Assoc 1997;128:11S-15S.

- Haywood VB, Leech T, Heymann HO, Crumpler D, Bruggers K. Nightguard vital bleaching: effects on enamel surface texture en diffusion. Quint Int 1990;21:801-804.

- Joiner A, Thakker G. In vitro evaluation of a novel 6% hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening product. J Dent 2004;32:19-25

- Kraigher A, van der Veen MH, Potocnik I. Caries occurrence in rats after bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide in vivo. Caries Res 2006;40:77-80.

- Langsten RE, Dunn WJ, Hartup GR, Murchison DF. Higher-concentration carbamide peroxide effects on surfaces of composites. J Esthet Restor Dent 2002;14:92-96.

- Leonard RH, Haywood VB, Eagle JC, Garland GE, Caplan DJ, Matthews KP, Tart ND. Nightguard vital bleaching of tetracycline-stained teeth 54 months post treatment. J Esthet Dent 1999A;II:265-277.

- Leonard RH, Eagle JC, Garland GE, Matthews KP, Rudd AL, Phillips C. Nightguard vital bleaching and its effects on enamel surface morphology. J Esthet Dent 2001A;13:132-139.

- Li Y. Tooth bleaching using peroxide-containing agents: current status of safety issues. Compend Contin Educ 1998;19:783-6, 788.

- Lopes GC, Bonissoni L, Baratieri LN, Vieira LC, Monteiro S Jr. Effect of bleaching agents on the hardness and morpholgy of enamel. J Esthet Restor Dent 2002;14:24-30.

- McCracken MS, Haywood VB. Effects of 10% carbamide peroxide on the subsurface hardness of enamel. Quint Int 1995;26:21-24

- McCracken MS, Haywood VB. Demineralization effects of 10% carbamide peroxide. J Dent 1996;24:395-398.

- Park H-J, Nam S-H, Kim H-J, Kim K-H, Kim Y-J. Changes in bovine enamel after treatment with a 30% hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent. Dent Mater J 2004;23:517-521.

- Potocnic I, Kosec L, Gaspieric D. Effect of 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching gel on enamel microhardness, microstructure, and mineral content. J Endod 2000;26:203-206.

- Pretty IA, Edgar WM, Higham SM. The effect of bleaching on enamel susceptibility to acid erosion and demineralisation. Br Dent J 2005;198:285-290.

- Pugh G, Zaidel L, Lin N, Stranick M, Baley D. High levels of hydrogen peroxide in overnight tooth-whitening formulas: effects on enamel and pulp. J Esthet Restor Dent 2005;17:40-47.

- Sulieman M. An overview of bleaching techniques: I. History, chemistry, safety and legal aspects. Dent Update 2004;31:608-616

- Sulieman M, Addy M, Macdonald E, Rees JS. A safety study in vitro for the effects of an in-office bleaching system of the integrity of enamel and dentine. J Dent 2004;32:581-590.

- Tam LE, Abdool R, El-Badrawy W. Flexural strenght and modulus properties of cabamide peroxide-treated bovine dentine. J Esthet Dent Res 2005;17:359-368.

- Yap AUJ, Wattanapayungkul P. Effects of in-office tooth whiteners on hardness of tooth-colored restoratives. Oper Dent 2002;27:137-141.