I was a bit apprehensive going in to the clinic, having a bit of a phobia of going to the dentists in general, but my fears were unfounded. After having had my expertly teeth cleaned by the friendly dentist Richard Flynn, I went into another bright and airy room to start the whitening treatment.
The treatment takes an hour in total and is broken down into three 20 minute sessions. A device was inserted into my mouth to keep my teeth exposed, which were coated in a whitening gel. The laser machine was then lowered to cover my teeth and turned on for 20 mins to get to work. This process was repeated twice with new layers of the gel.
I honestly can say that the worst part of the treatment was the sheer boredom, you can't check your phone or talk so there's not much to occupy yourself. Luckily, I didn't suffer from any sensitivity either during or after the treatment, which I had been concerned about previously.
The results? My teeth, which had been fairly stained from regular tea, coffee and red wine consumption, were a fair bit lighter, about 5/6 shades my technician advised. I got an at-home kit of gels so I could continue the treatment at home to treat the back of my teeth, which cannot be treated by the laser machine, and this improved them by a further couple of shades.
I've been using the at-home kit to top-up my teeth whiteness every couple of weeks to maintain the results, and have to say I'm impressed. My teeth will never be sparkly-white but it's definitely an improvement.
Just to be aware - try to do the teeth whitening treatment mid-week when you don't have much on. You can't have coloured foods or drinks for 48 hours after having the treatment done, which severely hinders your diet! A beige diet for a couple of days isn't the worse sacrifice to get whiter teeth, however.
Full in-clinic laser teeth whitening is available for €79 (previously priced at €125) at White Smile Clinic, click here for locations.
Sarah McIntyre
White Smile Clinic
01 667 8524
www.whitesmileclinic.ie
