There was a shop that opened up in our city mall that does teeth whitening. I did some research and read that teeth whitening was so easy you didn’t have to go to a cosmetic dentist for it. So, I decided to talk to them. They said all their attendants were certified teeth whitening specialists who had to pass extensive training. I decided to do it. It was a little less expensive than what my dentist quoted me so it seemed like a win-win. I was really wrong. I don’t know what happened, but my gums are in massive pain. Plus, everywhere I have a filling looks really blotchy and weird. I called them and they said the gums are normal and will calm down. She said the color around my fillings will stabilize too, but neither has gotten better. Do you think there’s something wrong?
Gemma C.
Gemma,
To put your mind at ease, the only thing wrong is that the quality of care you’ve received. Your gums are in pain because they didn’t protect them from the teeth whitening solution. It must have been in contact with your gums for an extended period of time for you to be in the pain you’re in. They should have taken precautionary measures to keep that from happening.
I have no idea what they mean by “teeth whitening specialist”. There isn’t such a thing recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA). It could be an in-office term they use to try and make things seem more official and medical. I doubt their training was that extensive because they made some pretty basic mistakes.
The first thing to address is your pain. It will help to take some over-the-counter pain reliever as well as do some salt-water rinses to help speed up the healing.
We also need to address your fillings. Despite what they told you, your fillings will never match your teeth. And, it was unethical for them to not warn you of this ahead of time. The only thing whitening gel whitens is natural tooth structure. It will not whiten your fillings or any other type of dental work, such as dental crowns.
The only way you’ll be able to get them to match your teeth is the have them re-done. Fortunately, if you have a decent cosmetic dentist, they’ll be able to do a beautiful composite filling to match your new sparkling white color.
While what you read is true that teeth whitening doesn’t have to be done by a cosmetic dentist, it does need to be done by a dentist. Too much can go wrong and you want to keep your gums healthy.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Mavrostomos.