It’s that time of year when Spring is almost peeking around the corner and we can all start to hope for sunnier, warmer days. Spring means being able to see indoors without having electric lights on, and oh boy, look at the dirt! It’s interesting how we are so primed to respond to the seasons, and Spring means cleaning, and sprucing up. We busy ourselves, tidying our nests and getting our bodies ready for Summer. So often we get immersed in trying to lose weight or get a new haircut when what would be most beneficial is a spruce up for our smiles.

How is yours looking? Have you taken a good look at the state of your teeth lately? At the colour? Is it a lovely pearly white? Or have you been drinking so much tea, coffee, red wine or cola that you’ve gone and stained them beyond the help of a scale and polish with the hygienist?

Never fear, here at Farnham Road Dental Practice, we can help you get your whites pearly again with teeth whitening in Guildford.

Most of the stains that can so discolour our teeth are on the surface. Our tooth enamel is porous so it soaks up dark pigments from food and drink, as well as tobacco and certain medications. What we do is use teeth whitening gels that have hydrogen peroxide as an active ingredient. Hydrogen peroxide has been in use as a whitener for a couple of hundred years. It’s safe. It gets into the porous bits in your enamel and lifts the staining out.

Depending on the strength of the hydrogen peroxide it can either do this very quickly, or very slowly and gently. The quick gel is stronger and can only be applied to your teeth by a professional. This is because, although hydrogen peroxide is not toxic, it can be an irritant. So, if you want the fast version, we need to do it for you, and protect your lips and gums with protective barriers. It takes about an hour. The milder treatment can be done by you at home and takes a couple of weeks.