Teeth Whitening in Townsville

Teeth pick up colour over a lifetime of coffee, tea, red wine and everything else, and professional whitening lifts a good deal of that back off. At Kirwan it starts with an examination rather than a shade guide, because what will actually work depends on what is causing the colour.

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Two Ways to Do It

In the chair. One appointment at Townsville, with the gum protected and a stronger gel than anything sold over a counter. We use Philips Zoom and Pola Office. This is the option for people who want it done and finished rather than managed at home.

At home, in trays we make for you. We take impressions, the laboratory makes trays that fit your teeth exactly, and you wear them with gel for a set period each day over a couple of weeks. We use Boutique Whitening, Pola Day and Pola Night, Opalescence. It takes longer, it is gentler, and you keep the trays, which matters more than it sounds: colour comes back over time, and topping up with trays you already own is far easier than starting again.

Plenty of people do both, starting in the chair and holding it there at home. What we suggest comes out of looking at your teeth, not out of a package.

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What Whitening Will Not Do

This is the part most whitening advertising leaves out, and it is the part that decides whether you end up happy.

• It does not change crowns, veneers, bridges or white fillings. They stay the shade they were made. If you have one at the front, whitening the teeth around it can make it stand out more, not less.
• It works on some stains and not others. Surface staining from food, drink and smoking responds well. Colour that comes from inside the tooth, from a knock, from a root canal or from certain medicines, is a different problem with different answers.
• It does not fix a tooth that is dark on its own. That is internal bleaching, and it is done from the inside of the tooth.
• It is not a substitute for a clean. A lot of what people call yellowing is build-up, and it comes off with a scale and polish rather than a gel.

If the colour you want cannot be reached by whitening, veneers are the honest next conversation, and we would rather have it before you spend money on the wrong thing.

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Why We Look First

Whitening gel goes over whatever is already there. Put it over untreated decay, a leaking filling or inflamed gums and you get pain rather than a result. So the examination comes first: we check for decay, check the gums, and check what your existing fillings and crowns will look like next to lighter teeth. That is not an upsell, it is the difference between whitening working and whitening hurting.

Sensitivity during whitening is common and usually settles. Tell us if your teeth are already sensitive, because the concentration and the wear time can both be adjusted, and that conversation is worth having before you start.

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The Single Dark Tooth

One tooth going darker than its neighbours, usually after a knock or a root canal, is a common and separate thing. It can often be lightened from the inside, which is internal bleaching, and it is available here at Townsville. Whitening the outside of that tooth will not match it to the others, so it is worth having it assessed before you whiten anything.

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Having It Done in Kirwan

In-chair whitening is a single appointment, so it fits into a day. Take-home trays need one visit for impressions and a second to collect them and be shown how to use them, and after that it is yours to run at home.

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What It Costs

The fee depends on whether you whiten in the chair, at home, or both, and you get a written quote after the examination so you have the figure before anything is booked. Whitening is a cosmetic treatment, so whether your health fund contributes depends on your policy: we check it at the desk through HICAPS. Payment plans are available if you would rather spread it, and there is more on our payment options page.