Is Teeth Whitening Worth It?
Despite your best efforts at good dental hygiene, and regular visits to the dentist for professional cleaning, you may find your teeth becoming more discoloured as you get older.
While surface stains and discolouration can commonly occur through lifestyle factors like using tobacco products and drinking lots of coffee and red wine, these extrinsic stains can usually be removed by your dentist with a professional clean.
If you find that your teeth still have a yellow hue to them, you may be a candidate for teeth whitening. And that’s quite normal, because the dentin inside your teeth starts to turn yellow as you get older. This is known as intrinsic staining, and it can only be corrected with high strength bleaching agents that are able to penetrate your tooth enamel, to access the dentin and whiten your stains.
Can’t You Whiten At Home?
There are plenty of over-the-counter products that claim to whiten teeth, but bear in mind that these products aren’t strong enough to penetrate your tooth enamel. If they contain abrasives like bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice or even charcoal, you may want to avoid them. These substances can damage the surface of your enamel making stains more noticeable – and weakening your tooth enamel.
Only your dentist is qualified and authorised to administer whitening products that contain more than 6% hydrogen peroxide or hydrogen carbamide – and these are the products that you need in order to whiten intrinsic staining.
In-Chair Professional Teeth Whitening
Our in-office whitening treatments are quick and effective, and can whiten teeth up to eight shades in just one session in the chair. They are also very safe – because you are in the capable hands of your dentist for the duration of your treatment.
Our Zoom whitening treatments are laser activated, which speeds up the process meaning that some patients can dash out of the office during lunch hour for a treatment and return to work straight after. With 20% hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent Zoom professional whitening deliver fast and effective results.
At-Home Whitening
Patients who don’t need to whiten for a special event and can wait a little longer for results, may want to try Zoom at-home whitening. Producing results in seven days, Zoom’s take-home whitening treatment is applied in customised trays and is formulated to minimise sensitivity.
So Much Does Professional Teeth Whitening Cost In Australia?
Dental practitioners’ costs differ, so it is difficult to publish prices for whitening online. We’ve done some research though and found some figures, which serve as a guideline for you when you’re budgeting.
Bear in mind that these are averages and there are a number of different teeth whitening systems out there so your costs will differ. Your total cost for teeth whitening will take into account
The cost of your dental check up
It’s essential to have a dental check up and professional clean prior to whitening. Not only will the professional clean ensure that all traces of plaque and tartar are removed to produce a more even whitening result, your dentist will also check your enamel for any weaknesses or cracks and ensure your teeth are free of decay.
Will you choose an at-home or in-chair treatment?
Your dentist will let you know the price difference between an in-chair treatment and a take-home treatment.
According to HealthDirect, it costs an average of $250 to $500 to have both your top and bottom arch whitened in the dentist’s chair. Should you prefer to do an at-home treatment using whitening trays, you can expect to pay between $150 and $300 per arch. If you need power bleaching to be done to a few teeth that are more stained, you can expect to pay around $30 to $50 per tooth.
Is The Cost Of Whitening Worth It?
While your teeth won’t retain their newly white colour forever, maintaining a whiter smile is easier than you might think. Chat to your dentist about maintenance options, because if you have invested in a high quality system and achieved your desired result, top-ups are quick and easy to perform.
It certainly isn’t worth cutting corners and choosing cheaper whitening to save a few dollars now. Think about your long term dental goals, because any scrimping you might make today, will need to be compensated for in the future. It’s better to have a professional whitening treatment done and pay less for maintenance, than to pay a lower price and have to pay higher amounts going forward, in order to maintain it.
A white healthy smile is a hallmark of youth and good looks and we always encourage our patients to get the best dental treatments that they can afford. If you’d like to invest in your smile and future dental health we’d love to chat to you about professional teeth whitening.
Please give our practice a call: (02) 4210 9078
