10 years ago or so a little known procedure called ‘dental bleaching’ came over here from the US where it was already in regular usage. (Of course).
Basically, carbamide peroxide (or sometimes hydrogen peroxide) in a gel form was squirted into plastic ‘trays’ which were then fitted over the patient’s teeth and worn over night. After a few nights previously yellow/stained teeth would begin to look noticeably whiter, it really worked!
Brilliant! The incidence of wall to wall veneers dropped through the floor overnight. Dental bleaching was safer (for the teeth) less invasive and a fraction of the cost of dental veneers.
An unbeatable product surely?
Perhaps not. Two things challenged the superiority of this simple, cheap and effective treatment.
- Firstly (American) patients decided that they couldn’t wait a few days for the result, they wanted it instantly!
- Secondly big corporates got a wind of this and realised that if they could persuade both the public and the dentists that bleaching could be done in under an hour they would get rich (and the dentists wouldn’t do so badly either).
‘Power bleaching’ aka ‘Laser bleaching’ was born…and well publicised companies like ‘Britesmile’, and ‘Zoom’ were suddenly offering better results than with the humble bleaching tray in under an hour. These companies spent millions on advertising to dentists and the public.
Dentists spent thousands on high-power bleaching lamps and lasers sold by these companies, and using the companies ‘own brand’ power whitening gel coupled with an impressive looking light source, they got on with ‘the business’ of bleaching.
The only problem is that it doesn’t work.
I’ll say that again: the only problem is it doesn’t work…..ok, well it works a bit, but the results from these products are consistently worse than from –you guessed it- those old take-home bleaching trays! What’s more, the old way of doing it keeps the teeth whiter for longer.
Now call me an old cynic but power whitening is regular repeat income: it costs twice as much and lasts half as long – so patients are forced to keep coming back and have it done again! Which is why many of my peers at the Aesthetic Academy (www.BAAD.org.uk) have gone back to the old tray system (or a combination approach).
As for the fancy lights and lasers? Dr Linda Greenwall –one of the UK’s leading bleaching experts – has often said that there is no evidence that these lights accelerate the bleach’s own effects, but that their main use is to “add flair” to the procedure…
To my mind it’s logical: 35% bleach for 45 mins can’t possibly bleach as deeply or as effectively as 15% bleach for 50 hours (overnight for 7-10 days)….what’s more the stronger bleach causes more sensitivity and some of these lights and lasers can overheat the teeth (www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v199/n1/full/4812555a.html) which is bad.
Hang on a minute (I hear you say) don’t you offer Power-whitening at your clinic? Yes I do. We offer it to those in a hurry ‘Doc, I’m getting married tomorrow’ because it does make a difference when time is of the essence – but we always take impressions to have trays made so that the patient can top up/finish the job at their leisure with the tray-system.
I know they will need to.
Free Consultation
Why not come and talk through your options? We don’t charge. At your consultation, we will spend about half an hour talking to you about your dental problems and what solutions are available to you. We will also look at your mouth to help us to see what the issues are with our own eyes.
Don’t worry. We will not be poking and prodding you, or taking moulds, or bombarding you with xrays and sales-talk.
The best thing about the consultation is that you get to meet us face to face and have a real conversation about what you wish to achieve – and where relevant – what has stopped you from coming before now.
By the end of the consultation, you will
- Have a reasonable idea of whether you are suitable for the treatment that interests you – over 95% of patients are
- Have a very good idea of what your financial investment would be
- Know that we are very easy to talk to, won’t patronise or put pressure on you, and that we appreciate that many of our patients are very nervous about our profession
- Know whether we can work within your time-frame ie many patients come because they have a specific event which they want to smile at like a family wedding, holiday etc
If you are happy to proceed with the next step (there is never any pressure to do this) then we will book your next appointment
We set out to be a friendly practice and try to provide everybody with what’s right for them, at an affordable cost. We hope our dentist reviews give that impression.
To book a free consultation, please complete the form below to email us, and we will mail or call you back. Alternatively, call us first for a quick chat.
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Teeth Whitening Price List
The following costs for Teeth Whitening are correct when written, but they can change. We will provide written pricing for each ‘cosmetic treatment’ as part of our free consultation. You don’t have to be a member to have treatment at Winning Smiles.
| Dental Plan | £23.35/month |
|---|
| Treatment Type | Member Pricing From |
|---|---|
| Routine Examination | £80 |
| Small x-rays | £28 |
| Airflow Stain Removal - All Teeth | £40 |
| OPG (Large Panoramic X-ray) | £109 |
| New Patient Examination + two x-rays | £155 |
| Full Case Assessment - Implants | £185 |
| CT Scan | £190 |
| Boutique Whitening | £349 |
What they say about us
No Regrets, Dental Implants
My only regret is not visiting Andrew 10 years ago.
My quality of life was becoming compromised by constantly having front bridges dislodging and falling out (mainly at important meetings, functions or holidays), to excuse the pun I was fed up to the back teeth.
For me the scheduling of appointments, explained cost at every stage and the sheer progress during my dental implant surgery was astounding. I’m not joking I looked forward to every visit.
Having the x-rays scans on site was great too; Andrew leads a great dedicated team who deliver a very slick 360 service during every stage of your treatment, including the best & gentlest hygienist I’ve ever been too.
In a nutshell (a dark and confined space) Andrew is without doubt a master of his trade, very kind and has a great sense of humour too.
Please DO NOT HESITATE to make the leap of faith, the best thing I ever did in 2015.
Upper Implant Bridge, Changed My Life
I have had my new teeth nearly 2 weeks now and could not be happier
I had a full upper implant bridge and some filling and cleaning to my existing lower teeth
Now for me, this was a big step as I had probably been to the dentist once in 10 years due to fear mainly, my teeth were in a bad way
as far as me not really going out at all anymore, not smiling at all and just hating the way they looked.
I decided to get the work done and went to a few dentists near London Bridge where I live and found that money and not my interests were at the top of their list so I decided to search further online and luckily found Winning Smiles.
From the moment I arrived I knew I was in the right place, I was comfortable straight away and after a chat, with Toni, I knew they were putting me and my needs first and that was the most important thing for me.
Once the cleaning and filing was done I had the upper implant bridge fitted , by the time the day came I was so relaxed at Winning Smiles I didn’t worry too much about the surgery , I have to say Andrew Fennell was amazing all the way through and is brilliant at his job so if you need any dental work he is the man to see , the surgery was pretty much pain free and I’ve had just a small amount of soreness on the upper roof of the mouth that was expected and I know this is down to Andrews care when he works .
Winning smiles has changed my life and I can’t thank them enough, everyone who works there from the hygienists to reception to the girls who held the tubes and wiped my face I can’t tell you how nice everyone is you’ll have to go and see for yourself they are amazing.
Thank you to the whole team but especially Toni who went beyond to help me and was always there if i needed her from day 1 until now so Thank You so much Toni.
Thank You to everyone at Winning Smiles you really have changed my life
Dental Services: Full Mouth Dental Implants, Painless Dentistry
