Teeth Whitening in Sheffield with Our Dentists

Whitening all your teeth at Deepcar Dental Care is done with a take-home tray course; options also include single-arch and internal whitening. For the tray course:

• Wearing the trays: around 6 hours overnight, or around 1.5 hours during the day.
• Gel supplied: 3 to 4 weeks' worth, in 4 syringes.
• Trays: around 2 years of use if they are well looked after.

Single-arch whitening treats only the upper or only the lower teeth, and internal whitening is for a dark root-filled tooth. No whitening light is used, and there is no in-chair power whitening. The practice's advice includes a white diet for 2 weeks after treatment and avoiding smoking during treatment.

Sensitivity is possible while whitening and usually settles within about 2 weeks of finishing, and desensitising gel is supplied. NHS guidance lists teeth becoming sensitive to cold or sweet food and drink, sore gums or throat, and white patches on the gums as possible side effects, and advises talking to your dentist about any side effects that bother you.

Whitening works on natural teeth only: crowns, veneers and fillings will not change colour, and NHS guidance says whitening can only lighten the colour of natural teeth. What whitening can and cannot change is covered on the page about teeth whitening results.

Situations where whitening at the practice is not suitable include being under 18, pregnancy or breastfeeding, active decay or gum disease, heavy tetracycline staining, and having many front crowns or veneers.

If you are still working out which option suits, the decision guide compares the routes. Each whitening treatment is described in the options in this section.

Check that the person who will whiten your teeth is on the General Dental Council (GDC) register before treatment starts. NHS guidance points to the GDC website for this check.

In the UK, teeth whitening is dental treatment. The GDC says it should only follow a proper assessment by a registered dentist and be carried out on their prescription, by the dentist or, working to the dentist's prescription, another dental professional the GDC permits to provide it, such as a dental therapist. It adds that no other types of dental professional can safely offer it, and that anyone not on its register who does so is breaking the law. NHS guidance adds that the dentist should check your teeth and gums are healthy before you try whitening.

• Ask for the name of the person offering you the whitening.
• Search the GDC's online register for that name.
• Check the entry's status, and check the registrant type is dentist or a type the GDC permits to provide whitening on a dentist's prescription, such as dental therapist. The GDC asks to be told if whitening is offered by someone suspended or erased from its registers.
• If the name does not appear, the GDC says the person is not registered and cannot legally provide whitening.

The GDC also says someone who has done a short training course cannot offer whitening legally, and that insurance cannot cover a criminal offence, so any policy bought to cover whitening by an unregistered provider is void. NHS guidance warns that whitening from places such as beauty salons, or with a kit bought from a pharmacy or online, does not work as well and may harm your teeth and gums. Who may provide whitening, salon and mobile whitening, and the gel strength limits are set out on the page about the law on teeth whitening in the UK.