My teeth are straight, thanks to a childhood spent in braces, so I've never had any issues with my smile. Until recently, when I started to notice that my broad grin was looking a bit, well, yellow...
Time to think about teeth whitening. If you've ever considered getting your teeth whitened, you may have the same issues as me, namely:
- Will it hurt?
- Will it work?
- Will it damage my teeth?
I wasn't convinced that an over-the-counter whitening system would do the job, and also wanted to get professional advice about whether my teeth were suitable for treatment. Putting my teeth at risk was out of the question, so I opted for KöR Deep Bleaching from an expert dentist.
The KöR whitening system, carried out at the awardwinning dental practice Ultrasmile, is held to be one of the most effective teeth whitening systems. A two-week treatment that works by restoring your teeth's ability to absorb oxygen, KöR even works on notoriously difficult to shift tetracycline stains.
I was in good company: UltraSmile's previous clients include Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh and businesswoman and The Apprentice star Karren Brady.
Treatment kicks off with a dental consultation; my teeth were checked, cleaned, moulds were taken and my whitening trays were cast. Ultrasmile's clinical director and dentist Dr Thang Nghiem talked me through the treatment and sent me away with a bag of syringes ready loaded with whitening bleach, desensitizer, swabs and information about how to get the best results out of the KöR treatment.
Dr Nghiem warned me that I might experience some pain from my whitening treatment as my gums are receding in places (blame age, over-brushing, genetics). If this happened, he said, take a break for a night from the whitening.
Did it hurt?
The short answer? Yes, but not enough to make me give up, and nothing I couldn't deal with. Every night before bed for 14 nights, I cleaned my teeth, applied desensitizing fluid and placed the gel-filled trays on my upper and lower teeth. Cue temporary twinges of pain, which generally faded to a dull ache, and the trays were fine to sleep in.
But the sensitivity became more bearable as the days went by, and I was encouraged by instant results in the whiteness of my teeth. The morning after my first treatment, my teeth were already noticeably whiter - although not in a bad 'Ross-from-Friends' kind of way. I was delighted.
My confidence soared, I started flashing my smile more and vowed to stick with it, despite the occasional sharp shocks of sensitivity - 'zingers' - that I experienced periodically. Some people take painkillers to cope but I didn't suffer badly enough to need them.
More challenging were the caffeine cravings during my fortnight of teeth whitening. As oxygen from the KöR deep bleaching gel penetrates your teeth, dissolving stain molecules, it also leaves your teeth temporarily more susceptible to staining from fluids such as coffee and red wine.
You're recommended to avoid staining foods during your treatment and for two days afterwards: tough if you're used to your daily caffeine fix (I swapped my morning Americano for a slice of coffee and walnut cake instead).
Did it work?
The treatment finished with an in-surgery treatment by Dr Nghiem: three back-to-back 20-minute applications of bleaching gel applied in the dentist's chair while I lay back and watched a TV nature documentary.
Cue uber-white teeth (but not scarily blindingly so), and a day of extreme zingers, which had ceased by the following morning.
My teeth were definitely whiter, looking naturally white rather than Hollywood. See the before and after pictures here. More than a month later, they are still white and shiny.
KöR whitening is a permanent teeth whitening system, so I can expect my teeth to maintain their looks, although Dr Nghiem (one of the country's leading cosmetic dentists, incidentally) recommended I top up my treatment by using my whitening trays one night per month on an ongoing basis.
I'm also using a whitening toothpaste (WhiteGlo) day and night to help maintain my gleaming smile.
Did it damage my teeth?
Gum and tooth sensitivity during the KöR whitening treatment did make me worry that my gums were suffering, but once the active treatment phase ended, things calmed down and I have suffered no lasting effects. My tip? Get a soft toothbrush to use during your treatment - much gentler on vulnerable gums.
Some people find their teeth whiten unevenly when they start the programme: this evens out during the course of the treatment.
As KöR Deep Bleaching is one of the most effective whitening systems out there - it can even improve the look of even tetracycline-stained teeth - it is more expensive than other systems. Having my whitening carried out by expert dentists at UltraSmile was reassuring and meant I had a number to call if I had any worries about how my KöR whitening was proceeding.
Find out more: Contact UltraSmile on 020 7093 4488 or visit the website www.ultrasmile.co.uk
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