Professional whitening uses gel that is only legally available through a dentist. Shop-bought kits in the UK must contain under 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, which rarely changes the shade of a tooth. At Chapel Dental Care, our dentist-prescribed at-home whitening kits cost £395, including your consultation, custom-made trays and whitening solution.
What Is The Difference Between Professional Whitening And Home Kits?
It’s a common misconception between whitening at the dentist and whitening at home. That is not quite the right distinction. Plenty of professional whitening is done at home. The real line is between whitening that has been prescribed by a dentist and whitening you have bought off a shelf.
UK law draws that line very precisely. Whitening products containing or releasing between 0.1% and 6% hydrogen peroxide cannot be sold directly to the public. They can only be supplied through a registered dentist, or through a hygienist or therapist working to a dentist’s prescription, with the first application carried out by or under the supervision of a dental professional. Anything a shop or website can legally sell you must sit below 0.1%. Products above 6% are prohibited outright for cosmetic use.
So a course of whitening you carry out at home using trays and gel provided by your dentist is professional whitening. It has been planned around your mouth, the gel is a strength you cannot buy yourself, and someone qualified has checked your teeth are healthy enough to whiten in the first place. A supermarket kit is a different product operating under a different legal cap.
If you would like us to look at your teeth and tell you honestly what whitening would achieve, you can book a consultation or read more about our teeth whitening treatment.
Do Teeth Whitening Strips Work?
Whitening strips will remove some surface staining and can make teeth look cleaner. What they will not reliably do is lighten the underlying shade of your teeth, because the concentration they are legally permitted to carry in the UK is too low to have much effect below the enamel surface.
There is a second problem, which is fit. Strips are made to one shape and your teeth are not. They tend to sit flat across the front of the smile and miss the curves of the teeth and the gaps between them, so results are often patchy. Anyone whose teeth are slightly crowded or rotated will notice this most.
Strips bought from overseas sellers are a separate concern, because they may not comply with UK limits at all. Some contain far more peroxide than is legal here, and some contain almost none.
Are Teeth Whitening Strips Safe?
Used as directed, a UK-compliant strip is unlikely to damage your teeth. The risks come from overuse and from unregulated products.
Because strips are not fitted to your mouth, gel can leak onto the gums and cause irritation or a temporary chemical burn. Repeated use beyond the instructions, usually because someone is not seeing the result they expected, increases sensitivity and can wear at the enamel over time. And no shop-bought product checks your mouth first. If you have decay, a leaking filling or gum disease, whitening gel reaching those areas is uncomfortable at best and can make the underlying problem worse.
That last point is the strongest argument for having whitening assessed rather than bought. A dentist checks the teeth are sound before anything is applied.
How Much Does Teeth Whitening Cost In The UK?
Professional whitening in the UK generally runs from around £175 to £800, depending on which type of treatment you have. Dentist prescribed take home kits sit at the lower end of that range. In practice whitening, where the gel is applied in the chair and activated by a light, sits at the upper end because it involves considerably more clinical time. Prices in London are typically higher than elsewhere in the country.
At Chapel Dental Care, our at home whitening kits are £395. That price covers the whole course. Your initial consultation is included, as are the custom-made trays produced to fit your teeth and the whitening solution itself. There are no separate charges for the trays or the gel.
It is worth checking what any quoted price actually includes, because practices differ. Some quote for the gel alone and charge separately for the consultation and the trays, which are the two things that make a course of whitening fit your mouth rather than approximately fit it.
If whitening turns out not to be the right answer for your teeth, for example where discolouration is coming from an old restoration rather than surface staining, we will talk through the alternatives and what they cost at your consultation rather than proceeding regardless. Our full price list is published on our private fees page.
How Does Teeth Whitening Actually Work?
Whitening works by applying a peroxide-based gel to the tooth surface. The peroxide passes through the enamel and breaks down the compounds that have built up inside the tooth over years of tea, coffee, red wine, curry and smoking. The tooth itself is not coated or painted. The existing stain is broken apart, so the tooth returns to a lighter shade.
That is the important part, because it explains why the strength of the gel matters more than anything else in this comparison. A product that cannot reach past the surface of the enamel cannot change the colour of the tooth. It can only polish off what is sitting on top.
Does Whitening Toothpaste Work?
Whitening toothpaste removes surface stain. It does not change the natural shade of your teeth.
Most work through mild abrasives or polishing agents that lift discolouration sitting on the enamel, which is genuinely useful for maintaining a result you already have. Some also contain very low levels of peroxide, well under the 0.1% cap, which is not enough to lighten a tooth.
Used daily alongside good brushing, whitening toothpaste is a reasonable way to keep teeth looking clean and to slow the return of stain after a whitening course. It is not a substitute for one.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?
A professionally prescribed course of whitening will generally hold its result for a year or more, though this varies considerably between patients and depends almost entirely on habits after treatment. Heavy tea, coffee and red wine drinkers, and anyone who smokes, will see teeth darken again sooner.
The practical advantage of custom trays is that they do not expire with the course. Once you have them, a top up months or years later simply means obtaining fresh gel and using the same trays for a few nights. That is usually all that is needed to bring the shade back.
Results from shop-bought products fade faster, largely because the change achieved was smaller to begin with.
Does Teeth Whitening Damage Your Enamel?
Whitening carried out at the concentrations permitted in the UK, on healthy teeth, is not considered to damage enamel. The gel works by breaking down stain compounds rather than by stripping tooth structure away.
Sensitivity is common during a course of whitening and is usually temporary. It tends to settle within a few days of finishing. It can be managed by using a desensitising toothpaste alongside treatment, by shortening the wear time, or by leaving a night between applications. We will talk you through this before you start rather than leaving you to work it out.
The situations where whitening does cause harm are consistent: products stronger than the legal limit, products applied without any check of the underlying teeth, and products used far more often than instructed.
Will Whitening Work On Crowns, Veneers Or Composite Bonding?
No. Whitening gel only changes the shade of natural tooth. Crowns, veneers, bridges, dentures and white fillings will stay exactly the colour they are.
This matters more than people expect. If you whiten your natural teeth and have an existing crown or filling at the front of your smile, that restoration will suddenly look darker by comparison, and matching it again means replacing it. It is one of the things we check at the consultation, because the sequence often needs planning. Where restorative work is on the cards, whitening is usually done first so the new work can be matched to the final shade.
If your concern is the shape of your teeth as well as the colour, composite bonding may be the more appropriate route, and again is best carried out after any whitening.
Teeth Whitening At Chapel Dental Care
We provide professional at-home whitening kits from our practice on Eccles Road in Chapel-en-le-Frith, seeing patients from across the High Peak and North Derbyshire including Buxton, Whaley Bridge, New Mills, Chinley, Hayfield and Dove Holes.
Treatment starts with a consultation to check that whitening will achieve what you have in mind, followed by impressions so your trays can be made to fit. You then wear them either during the day or overnight, typically over three to four weeks, with your dentist giving you instructions specific to your kit.
To discuss whether whitening is right for you, call us on 01298 816444.
Chapel Dental Care, 2a Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 0EZ.
Our GDC registered dentists: Ryan Clark (277508), Clare Burkitt (65961), Cameron Horn (285014), Hamna Saeed (278414), Jubair Ahmed (80172), Jihad Kader (245088).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Get Teeth Whitening On The NHS?
Teeth whitening is classed as a cosmetic treatment and is not available on the NHS. It is only provided privately.
How Long Does Teeth Whitening Take?
At home whitening with custom trays typically runs over three to four weeks, with the shade lightening gradually through the course. You will usually notice a change within the first week.
Is Teeth Whitening Permanent?
No. Teeth pick up stain again over time from food, drink and smoking. Most people find their result holds for a year or more before they want a top up, which can be done using the same trays.
Can Under-18s Have Teeth Whitening?
No. UK law does not permit whitening products containing or releasing between 0.1% and 6% hydrogen peroxide to be used on anyone under 18 for cosmetic purposes.
Is Teeth Whitening At A Beauty Salon Legal?
Tooth whitening is legally the practice of dentistry in the UK and can only be carried out by a registered dental professional. A salon or beauty therapist who is not GDC registered cannot lawfully provide it.
How Often Can I Use My Whitening Trays?
Follow the instructions your dentist gives you for your specific kit rather than treating trays as something to use whenever you like. Overusing whitening gel increases sensitivity without improving the result.
