Professional teeth whitening at home?

ebeling hammaslääkärit hampaiden valkaisu

Collaboration: Ebeling dentists

White teeth aren’t just for celebrities. But for some reason, I’ve always combined white teeth with celebrities. And I’ve always thought it must be a very expensive project. But it just so happens that whitening your teeth is easier and cheaper than you’d think!  When you get your teeth whitened at a professional – or use professional products – the results last long and you get your money’s worth back – and more.

I’ve always liked my smile, but having whiter teeth has given me a little extra confidence boost. Because of my blog, I spend quite a lot of time in front of the camera, and I’ll have to admit it’s even nicer to smile at the camera, when my teeth are white. So I guess I would understand why a person performing in TV would think the same.

Last spring I told you about my dentist visits and about the first time I got my teeth whitened. I also talked about soda cleaning (which is an amazing option for teeth whitening) and about the teeth whitening I got done at the dentist. Now I will tell you about the third option: professional teeth whitening that you can do at home.

professional teeth whitening at home

Professional teeth whitening at home

I’ve tried different home treatments to whiten my teeth, but my experience with them has been somewhat clumsy. The dental trays haven’t felt that comfortable on my teeth and overall the results haven’t been that striking. So I have to say, my expectations towards doing this at home were quite low.

I thought that it would be uncomfortable, slow and boring. And I wasn’t expecting the results to be as good as to what you can get with a teeth whitening appointment.

But as it turns out, it was quite easy. And comfortable. And very, very effective!

Before the treatment

You should have any calculus removed before teeth whitening, as the whitening doesn’t work on that. Teeth need to be clean so that the substance can do it’s magic. I got my calculus removed in May, so I didn’t have to do it again.

Then, you need to get the molds done at the dentist. This was quick and I got the dental trays sent to me after a few days.

How does it work? Whiteness Perfect 16%

The treatment is simple: you clean your teeth, wipe them with a tissue so they’re dry and apply your dental trays with the teeth whitener in them. The product comes in a tube, so it’s easy to squeeze the right amount into the trays. Once you have the whitener in them, you place them on your teeth and press them on. As they’re made just for you, professionally, they feel very comfortable and they sit just right. That is what makes the treatment so nice! I’m accustomed to using a night guard and I though that this would feel somewhat similar to that, but it was nowhere near like that. The trays just fitted right into my mouth and they were also quite invisible.

You can leave the whitener on for 1-2 hours on 7-14 days depending on how white you want your teeth to get. If your teeth are sensitive, you can leave it on for a shorter time. I used the whitener only for four days and I was already super happy with the results. I left it on for 2 hours, except for the first time when I tested it and only left it on for an hour. So I would say that the right time is definitely up to you. My teeth are naturally quite white so that’s probably why I could get away with a shorter time. And actually I didn’t want my teeth to get unnaturally white, if that makes sense. Even though I have no doubt that could be done, if I just continued to use the whitener!

teeth whitening at home

I also want to note that even though it sounds like a long time to get results – I would see results in just one use. Especially after those two hours. Every time my teeth got brighter and brighter. I will probably use the rest of the tube like that – just for a day or two, couple hours at a time. It lasts well in the tube so it’s okay to not use it all immediately.

Another thing I want to note is that it’s surprisingly easy to dose the whitener in the trays. Only once I managed to put too much and I got some on my gums. It stung for a moment on my gums, but they quickly recovered.

Teeth whitening results – Before & after

before after whiteness perfect

I noticed my teeth were a bit yellow on the sides and it almost looked like there were some stains. They were all gone after the whitening! I am very pleased with the results.

What’s better – getting your teeth whitened at the dentist – or whitening your teeth at home yourself?

The pros of going to the appointment are that it’s quicker (45 minutes or so) and you don’t have to do anything yourself. You just lay there and the dentist makes sure the whitener doesn’t get in your gums and you can just browse your phone and chill. I did, however, experience some aching after the treatment. It wasn’t anything too bad and it only lasted for one evening, but still.

I didn’t experience any ache in my teeth with the home-whitening-kit. Then again, I didn’t do it for that many days at home. You can modify the treatment easily at home. And, you can multitask. Let’s face it, everyone is busy nowadays and even a short dentist visit is a time away from something else. Whitening my teeth at home I could at the same time write my blog, watch TV or take a nap. I would especially recommend taking a nap – talk about a beauty sleep!

And what’s best about the home-whitening is that once you got the dental trays, you only need to repurchase the whitener, when you run out of it.

Whiteness Perfect home-kit costs 250€.
If you buy it with a teeth whitening appointment you get it for 150€.

Ebeling dentists
phone: 010 323 3963
https://ehammas.fi  / Facebook / Instagram

P.S. I also go to Ebeling dentists for botox and I warmly recommend that to everyone who’s suffering from bruxism or headaches or jaw aches. I wrote about botox and bruxism in this post. Recently I went back and got some more botox and we tried a bigger dose this time. I will probably update you about that later, as I noticed bruxism is a common problem. But as I said in the post, I am still very pleased with the treatment and so far it has been the only thing that has actually helped the problem.

Do you like to get your teeth whitened? What do you think about my results?

Fixing my smile with dental care

ebeling hammaslääkärit kokemuksia

sakari ebeling dentist hammaslääkäri

Collaboration with Ebeling dentists
Contains a discount for you at the end of this post

Some of you might remember me talking about a big collaboration coming up. Well – now it’s finally here and I’m very excited to tell you that it’s with Ebeling dentists! I knew I wanted to get my teeth and smile fixed – and it was important to me, that the place I would go, would be the kind of place I would go to even outside of the collaboration. Risto has been their client for over a year already and he has always been very happy with everything, so I knew it would probably be the right place for me too. So let’s get into the subject, that is my teeth.

teeth stains värjäytymät hampaissa

First of all: what was wrong with my teeth? In pictures they might seem fine and I’ve even gotten a few compliments on them, of how straight and white they look. But in reality, I was feeling a bit self conscious about them. I had pretty bad stains on my lower teeth. And I know I’m not alone – it seems to be pretty common to be ashamed of your teeth. Maybe they’re not that straight, or maybe their color isn’t that even. It saddens me too hear, every time someone says they try not to smile that wide, so that their teeth wouldn’t show. I can relate to that, but at the same time I feel like it shouldn’t be like that.

Teeth are a pretty distinctive part of us, so it makes sense to keep good care of them. Spend a little time, effort and money on them. So keeping that in mind, I’d like to tell you about a few things you could do to your teeth to boost up your confidence.

smile teeth

Calculus/plaque removal & soda cleaning

Did you know, that calculus can cause you bad breath and gingivitis?
And did you know, that removing calculus and cleaning your teeth with soda can make your teeth totally stain-free, clean and whiter?

I had gingivitis before going to the procedure, and I was intrigued to hear that calculus can affect that infection and cause that. I wonder if that was the case with me. I was happy about this appointment, because I knew removing calculus would already make my teeth look better.

hyvä suuhygienisti helsinki

But what was even more intriguing was the soda cleaning, that was done to my teeth. I had never even heard of that – and it’s no wonder. I’ve only been a customer to public dental care and they don’t really care of the aesthetic aspect of your teeth. In other words: they won’t remove your stains, as it’s just your problem. But having done this once – I’m already hooked! I think in the future this will act as my teeth whitening. Just look at the photos and see how good my teeth look.

And as always with teeth procedures, the guestion is: does it hurt? Nope. The only thing that felt a bit uncomfortable was the scraping and removing of the calculus (but that could also be, because of the inflammation I had on my gums). The other part, soda cleaning, didn’t feel like anything.

For anyone suffering from stains – I urge you to try the soda cleaning! It’s also a great option for teeth whitening, as it does brighten your smile quite a lot. I know teeth whitening might cause ache to some, so this would also be a painless option.

before and after soda cleaning
Before and after plaque removal + soda cleaning.

Dentist Sakari Ebeling answered some questions:

How does soda cleaning work?
Small sodium bicarbonate crystals are blown with water-air shower on the tooth’s surface and that removes the stains and calculus.

Does soda cleaning affect my dental enamel?
In normal use, no. If you would do it every day, then it could wear out the dental enamel, just like brushing your teeth too hard could do.

Can I whiten my teeth at home with baking soda?
It’s not recommended. Brushing your teeth with baking soda at home may wear out your dental enamel. In some DIY teeth whitening instructions lemon juice is used together with soda – that especially wears out the dental enamel.

teeth whitening
During teeth whitening.

Teeth whitening

If you really want to get your teeth brighter and whiter, your option is obviously teeth whitening. Ebeling dentist do this in two ways: using the regular hydrogen peroxide or carbamide. The teeth whitening I got done, was done with hydrogen peroxide. I was a bit nervous about my appointment, as I thought that I would have to keep my mouth open for an hour and I could already feel my jaw clench. Luckily this wasn’t the case.

My teeth whitening experience was very pleasant. My dental hygienist Katariina was very calm and professional and she was constantly making sure that I was okay and that I didn’t feel any ache. I didn’t have to keep my mouth open, as the holder kept my mouth open all the time. The whitening paste was on my teeth for twenty minutes at a time, forty minutes altogether. Those two twenty minutes went by quickly and I was able to relax a little, listen to the music and check my Instagram (maybe you saw my glamorous snaps).

ebeling hammaslääkärit katariina matilainen
Me right after teeth whitening (hence the big smile!) with dental hygienist Katariina Matilainen.

Does teeth whitening hurt?

I only felt a little ache in my teeth during the whitening. A small ache is normal during this procedure, but as always, it’s very personal how we experience pain. For a day, my teeth and gums felt a little sensitive, and in the evening I experienced some ache, but that’s normal and lasts only for a couple of days. For me, it was only for the day and after that my teeth were perfectly fine. So in terms of pain, I would say that it’s worth it to get a white smile only for the price of small ache in the evening.

After the procedure I got home instruction including a list of foods and drinks I should avoid. But I should mention that I did get a permission to drink latte the next day (my fellow coffee addicts surely understand). The list wasn’t long or bad and it was only for two days, so that didn’t really limit my life.

As my teeth were already quite white naturally (and thanks to the sodium carbonate cleaning!), they went about one shade whiter. You can still see the difference though: my smile is now super bright and I feel like it couldn’t be any better. This too is personal and depends on your teeth. Normally your teeth should go 1-3 shades whiter.

hampaidenvalkaisu helsinki
Before and after teeth whitening.

Dentist Sakari Ebeling also answered some questions about teeth whitening:

Does teeth whitening ruin your dental enamel?
No it doesn’t. It may cause some momentary ache in some patients. It’s still not recommended to whiten your teeth many times per a year.

Does whitening affect dentin or does it only whiten the surface of your teeth?
It whitens dentin through the small dentin tubules.

You do whitening with hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide – what’s the difference?
Hydrogen peroxide, which is the stronger substance, is mostly used in-office treatments. Carbamide peroxide is mostly used at-home-treatments. Carbamide peroxide turns to mild hydrogen peroxide and affects that way.

hammaslääkäripelko apua

Dental fear & anxiety

I couln’t write this post without talking about my dental fear, because it’s pretty important to take into consideration when you’re – you know – dealing with dentists. I think almost all of us dread going to the dentist and actually having some anxiety towards it is also pretty common. Ebeling dentists provide services for people who have dental fear and they have for example a cute dog, that can be there for you, if you need it.

My anxiety wasn’t that bad at these visits, just because the atmosphere in the place is so calm and all the personnel are so nice and welcoming. And what was surprisingly calming, was the fact that there was music playing in the rooms as well! I definitely feel, that going to this place I am less scared than usual. That said, I’ll definitely get some drugs for my wisdom teeth removal later (wisdom teeth removal is my ultimate teeth nightmare after all).

I am now super happy with my teeth and I feel like it has given me a major confidence boost! It says on Ebeling’s site that “Your smile is our business card!” and me leaving the building with a silly grin on my face sure endorses that statement.

white smile

hammaslääkäripelkoon helpotusta

Discounts to Ebeling dentists

Now you have a great opportunity to get to Ebeling’s dental care. I recommend first booking an appointment to checkup, so you get a good insight of your teeth’s health. For me, we first checked out the situation and took roentgen picture, which showed that I have some wisdom teeth, that need to be removed soon. It’s also notable, that before whitening, plaque neeeds to be removed.

Checkup and X-ray picture  69€ (normal price 119,€)
*When you’re entitled to social insurance compensations. If you’ve been to checkup already in 2017 or 2018, the price is 15,5€ higher.

Soda cleaning free of charge, when making an appoinment to plaque removal (normal price +15€)

*Plaque removal 60mins 111€. Without social insurance compensation 129€. To get the compensation, you need a referral from a private dentist, which you get from the checkup.

Whitening 200€ (norm 300€)

Discounts are valid to appointments booked in May. You get the discount by mentioning this blog’s name ‘Charlotta Eve’, when booking.

Another thing to note – Ebeling dentists never add any additional costs or office fees. A good quality service is always included in the price.

best dentist helsinki
Ebeling dentists
 
Porkkalankatu 7 A
00180 Helsinki
 
phone: 010 323 3963
 teeth whitening results
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