£75 reduction in the cost of Britesmile Whitening

Oracare_Dental

Referring to the comments made by Vik:

Having performed many successful Britesmile procedures I strongly disagree that post-op sensitivity is far higher than the 10% qouted and I personnally have not had any patients whose sensitivity has persisted for more than 24hrs.

At our practice we do offer both whitening systems.  The home whitening is carried out using carbamide peroxide.  Although the results are similar it has been my experience that home whitening produces more sensitivity than in surgery whitening , again this is self limiting.

As with all whitening systems the results are not permanent and relapse of colour does occur.  With Britesmile you will get on average one shade relapse approximately every six months.  The procedure itself will produce on average 6 shades improvement and so the results can be expected to last approximately two years.

Home whitening is indeed cheaper (£300) as opposed to Britesmile (£495), and I would recommend both systems as a safe and effective way to lighten teeth back to their natural whiteness.

Regarding the final comment Vik made as to the supply of whitening gel. If patients require additional gel they would need to see the dentist to ensure that their whitening trays which they wear at night fit well to prevent the gel leaching out. This would involve a consultation, i.e. these gels cannot simply be purchased over the counter. Furthermore the cost of the gel is approximately £100.

System

Hayder

Thanks for your reply above! It is good to have a discourse on this subject.

I agree that home bleaching also causes sensitivity, and that this will be longer lasting by virtue of the longer length of treatment. However my own experience, and that of several colleagues is that the intensity of the sensitivity if far greater with power bleaching. It seems odd to suggest that the far stronger hydrogen peroxide used in Britesmile should produce such a minor degree of sensitivity, comparative to the weaker carbamide peroxide (which dissociates to hydrogen peroxide but at much lower levels) in the home bleaching systems.

What is in question here is 'what is best for the patient'. I am sure that the occasional case does relapse at the remarkabley low rate of one shade per 6 month. This is not the norm, but I would obviously have to defer to your experience. I myself stopped using a very similar system (luminarc) because stability was a problem, and the results unreliable unless backed up by home bleaching.

It is a valid point that I don't provide free gel to patients. However, most kits come with an excess, which can be used within a reasonable time. Further gel is normally inexpensive (roughly £45 for 6 syringes - enough to last quite a while).

The jury is still out as to whether the lights used in these power bleaching systems do anything at all beyond provide a little heat, and mystique to the process (laser bleaching - hah!) Independant studies are often at odds with those sponsored by the companies that produce the power bleaching lights and systems. This does not mean that Britesmile does not work - just that I would personally not invest in it, nor spend the addtional cash having it done!

Hope the new practice goes well.

Vik.

System

Hayder,

Just noted you edit. Good point about the tray fitting. What we normally do is ask patients to bring the trays in with them if they wish additonal material to one of the standard exams. Thus there is no additonal charge for this aspect!

Each dentist works in an individual way though, and some may prefer to have a specific chargeable appointment for this sort of thing.

Regards

Vik

System

What about toothpastes that whiten your teeth?

Do they work?

System

I'm having my teeth whitened at the moment :-) using opalsmile whitening. Everybody has noticed it is costing £200 (via dentist) getting married in two weeks so its a treat. However boots do a good whitening kit for £23 pounds (i'm in wigan) plus if you but at the moment you get extra points.

One word of warning those withn sensitive teeth beware, it can be a little painful......:-( no pain no gain....:-)

System

Hi there,


On the topic of Tooth whitening, last year in the states i discovered a range of products that whitened my teeth!

None of which are available here, at first I was worried I had damaged my teeth, but after visiting my dentist and showing him what I had used he said it was perfectly safe........ok getting to the point now......

I use Crest White Strips and Colgate whitening Gel, both american, and you cannot buy them in the UK.....HOWEVER if you have a friend in the USA get them to send you it, OR you can buy them on E-bay if you do a worldwide search for the above, I recently recieved my new batch of White Strips and it cost me in total £20, for something that really does work (that was including the US postage!)

I've tried stuff from the UK however it never seems to make much difference!
Tooth Whitening is such a huge market in America that home kits are cheap as chips! My dentist said I got the same results from the White strips and Gel as i would from using a professional dentist and it was a fraction of the price! (he also asked where i got them from!!)

A more affordable way for anyone who cant afford a spare £500 - with the same results!

1972pixie

VK2003 , I have seen when browsing eBay self whitening kits for aroung the £20 mark, I assume that these products are as ineffective as "whitening Tootepaste" or am I incorrect ? ???

System

;D
Hi there,

After spending 3 months in Ft Lauderdale last year, living with yanks i discovered the art of home whitening kits! I'd tried stufff from Boots before and it never made a difference...HOWEVER since the Tooth Whitening market in USA is huge, its much cheaper than over here!

I paid $15 for "Crest White Strips" and $9 for Colgate Whitening Gel, and believe me my teeh were white!

That was a year ago, and i smoke and drink red wine so they are not quite so white, so what did i do......bought the above things off the e-bay usa site, i paid £20 including postage for both of thesee items, and not only have I already noticed the diffrence but so had my workmates!! and the 28day course isnt finished!

(yes i checked with my dentist when i came back that i had done no harm, and she gave me the thumbs up)

she also said i had gotten the same results as if i had it done professional, but it cost a fraction of the price!!

So if you want really white teeth without forkin out £400 i suggest you try it! ;D

dianeb_3

Hi
Can definately agree with previous reply - tried Crest Whitening Strips whilst visiting my daughter in the States a couple of months ago. She had used them previously and the difference was really noticable. They worked with myself, not quite as well but still with a obvious effect (probably something to do with age as the information says that they improve whiteness by 14 years). They cost $24 and are used twice a day for half an hour over a one week period. Neither of us experienced any discomfort apart from that of having to keep quiet for an hour a day!

System

;D

I would be interested in the general consensus of opinion on home whitening gels and strips. I have thought the possibility of over use of the products and possible adverse side effects is far greater when used outside controlled enviroments i.e. surgeries. I am not coming out on the side of Oracare..... who is getting some good mileage out of this! I ask merely as a ex dental nurse whose son has recently bought a product called White Again Teeth Whitening Gel.....