Zoom Teeth Whitening - in pain!

bubblegum6000

Hello

Wondering if any of the dentist on here could offer any advice! I was persuaded in to having my teeth whitened by the dentist - it was something that I had been looking in to and he made it seem so easy!

The suggested treatment was the Zoom Whitening done there and then 4 tubes of bleach and the trays to do at home.

Had the Zoom done this morning and it was AGONY!! I may be a wimp but it really really hurt! I only managed to have 1 and 1/2 goes of the light! The 1st one was fine, then a couple of mins into the second the pain in my lower teeth became unbearable and they had to stop and remove the gel. The pain then intensified and I just couldnt move from the chair! After being given Ibruprofen and Paracetamol and the lower tray with some gel to stop the sensitivity (it took over an hour for me to be able to put the tray in!) I had finally stopped shaking enough to drive home!

They advised me that for some people it can be painful and to expect the 'zingers' (i think that was the term!) to subside within 24 hours.

The pain is still really quite intence but bearable enough! Annoyingly I have had to come in to work so am struggling!

My main concern is that the pain isnt going to go! - does it always go within 24 hours? Is there anything else I can do to help ease the pain? I haven't eaten a thing and am struggling to drink because it is sooooo painful! - is this normal?

Also should I ever get to the stage of ever wanting to use the at home kit will it be the same? There is no way I can go through this again!

I cant ask my dentist as they closed at lunch so any advice would be wonderful!

thanks

welshdent

You can try some sensitive toothpaste and apply neat. Outside that not much else we can suggest as we can not see you. Best to contact your dentist as soon as they open

Lazy_Liz

Hopefully your teeth have quitened down now but years ago when I had a brace fitted the dentist suggested chewing a paracetamol tablet for the pain, it tastes awful but does help with brace pain so maybe will help with this kind of pain too. Remember not to chew paracetamol if you have alrady taken a does normally.

Toothsmith

Chewing paracetamol will have no extra effect above just taking it.

Pain killers work on the brain - not on any thing locally to the pain. (Ibuprofen gel does have a slight topical effect, but not as much as the makers claim!)

So chewing pain killers or holding a pain killer against a sore spot/sore tooth will not do anything - and in the case of aspirin, can cause qute nasty chemical burns.

The exact mechanism of action of some painkillers wasn't fully understood for quite a while, which is why stories of them being effective at the site of a pain sprang up (And are still around!) But now it is pretty much certain that they act on the brain, not the site of the pain.

maypole

I knew someone who used to chew aspirin and take it without water, she burnt her gullet so be very careful about doing this.

Lazy_Liz

Toothsmith is right, just checked up; Paracetamol works in the brain so getting it into the blood stream and thus into the brain quicky is the best way of taking it, (silly old dentist, he was wrong) however asprin and ibuprofen prevent the formation of prostaglandins at the site of the injury and this reduces the pain signals and inflamation. You used to be able to get chewable asprin (I had this as a kid before they discoverd asprin was dangerous for children) Bonjela contains salisylic acid (asprin) and so do some spot treatments.
I don't think I would chew an asprin tablet though.

Another thought woudl teething gel help this problem?

brook2jack

Never put aspirin of any type on your teeth or gums. Never spot treat anything in your mouth in this way , it burns http://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&source=mog&hl=en&gl=uk&client=safari&tab=wi&q=aspirin%20burn%20of%20the%20oral%20cavity&sa=N&biw=320&bih=356#i=3

Never put anything in your mouth after whitening unless advised by your dentist, unless it is a toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Whitening itself can cause some gum damage and then putting bonjela, tooth tincture , aspirin or whatever on it can make things irreparably worse.

londondent

I hope your pain has subsided by now!

If not try using colgates pro-relief toothpaste, my patients usually comment it works well for sensitivity , rub into the tooth for 1 min and leave it on for as long as possible. Alternatively get hold of some GC tooth mousse and use as directed above, you can even put it into your whitening trays and wear overnight.

A lot of patients who have had in surgery whitening have this problem, and is one of the main reasons why most dentists on this website don't use "Power whitening".

Hope that helps.

moneylover

can you get as good an effect with trays then, just takes longer? Or is there any power whitening that is less likely to cause this pain. I feel so very sorry for the poster becuase they have presumably had to pay full price for the treatment as no-one's fault presumably that it happened
I have two teeth that are sensitive to certain foods/cold. Would those two teeth be guaranteed to be a terrible problem if I had power whitening or doesnt it follow?

brook2jack

Trays are a much more controllable way of whitening teeth and sensitivity problems are alot less. But it is important op contacted the dentist because there are certain things the dentist can do like adjusting concentration of solution or giving sensitivity treatments to put in the tray.

Some people are just not suitable for tooth whitening, particularly if they have gum disease, exposed roots or very sensitive teeth to start with. That's why it's so important to be assessed by a dentist. I would say 50% of people who ask for whitening are not suitable for one reason or another.

Power whitening is a marketing tool. Teeth look whiter initially because they dry out. As they rehydrate over the next hours/day the whiteness fades a fair bit. Research shows tray systems give a more predictable, controllable and comfortable result.

Toothsmith

moneylover wrote: »

can you get as good an effect with trays then, just takes longer?

People seem to want 'instant' these days.

If you have power treatments, you will walk out of the dental practice a few shades whiter. That's sexy and 'now'.

If you want your teeth to be made whiter on a more long-term basis, then tray & gel is the only way to do it.

I still use the same gel system that I started using 15 yrs ago. Simply because on the patients I select to use it on (Which is by no means every patient who asks for it, although I find most of my patinets are suitable) it gives very predictable, consistant results.

I can 'guarentee' the treatment will work and work well on the patients I do it for.

The ones who I first did it for 15 years ago still have whiter teeth now than they did before. There is not a power system on the market that will ever be able to claim that (Unless it's followed up with tray & gel, which many do).