Teeth Whitening

Extrinsic Tooth Stains

Typically when it comes to external tooth stains, it’s most likely that these stains are only affecting the outer enamel layer of the tooth or the surface of the tooth. These types of stains are typically the result of tobacco use or frequent consumption of dark coloured food and drinks such as coffee, red wine, or tea.

This form of tooth discolouration can be easily managed and removed through scaling and polishing regular tooth brushing using teeth whitening toothpastes. Both take home whitening kits and chairside teeth whitening treatment will prove to be effective solutions when it comes to brightening up teeth suffering from extrinsic tooth stains.

Intrinsic Tooth Stains

Intrinsic tooth stains are located deep within the tooth, as such, these types of stains are inherently a lot more difficult to remove as these stains are highly resistant to teeth whitening treatment. Typically, stains within the enamel layer of the tooth can still be removed via tooth whitening treatment.

However, stains that affect the dentin or pulp of the tooth are usually not treatable using regular chairside whitening or take home whitening kits. Intrinsic stains are usually purplish or grayish in colour.

Common causes of intrinsic tooth stains include:

• Tetracycline stains
• Certain medications
• Root canal treatments
• Trauma or damage to a tooth
• Tooth decay
• Excess fluoride consumption

In cases where teeth whitening is unable to remove the tooth stains. Your dentist may recommend alternative cosmetic solutions such as dental veneers to conceal the stains instead.

Age-related Tooth Stains

The enamel layer of teeth will naturally thin with age due to daily use. This will often result in teeth starting to discolour into a shade of yellow. Generally, age related tooth discolouration is the result of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

Depending on the type of tooth stain, patients suffering from age-related tooth stains can benefit from teeth whitening solutions. 

Chairside Teeth Whitening

Chairside teeth whitening, also known as in-office teeth whitening, refer to a form of teeth whitening that dental professionals offer across dental offices and clinics.

In-office teeth whitening solutions are quick and highly effective in providing patients with longer-lasting results due to the higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide used, compared to the other types of teeth whitening.

On top of this, patients will typically only require a single session to achieve a brighter smile. Chairside teeth whitening can only be carried out by a trained and professional dentist.

In-clinic chairside teeth whitening is usually recommended for patients looking for a convenient, fast and effective whitening treatment that almost always guarantees results.

Chairside teeth whitening is also the most expensive, when compared to other alternative methods, with prices typically ranging between $1,000 – $1,300 per session.

Take-Home Teeth Whitening Kits

Take-home whitening kits from dental clinics contain a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide as teeth whitening products above 0.1% hydrogen peroxide limit can only be supplied to registered dentists and used under their supervision.

Thus, take-home whitening kits from dental clinics can only be sold at the discretion of the dentist after professional assessment. Hence, as compared to those sold in pharmacies or online, these take-home whitening kits from dental clinics will cost more but justifiably so.

Take-home teeth whitening kits utilise custom-fitted bleaching trays that fit perfectly onto your teeth and whitening gels to whiten teeth from the comfort of your home. Your dentist will fabricate these bleaching trays for you and issue some hydrogen peroxide whitening solution to add to it before wearing the bleaching trays.

Patients are typically recommended to wear the bleaching trays for 30 minutes to 1 hour a day for 2 weeks in order to achieve desired results. The amount of carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide take-home whitening gel is significantly lesser than those used in chairside whitening.

The cost of take-home whitening kits typically ranges between $300 – $650.

Over-The-Counter Whitening Products

These products can help with stained teeth but unlike dentist administered products, these whitening products usually have zero or very low amounts of carbamide/hydrogen peroxide in them.

Based on regulations set in place by the Singaporean healthcare authorities, teeth whitening products containing more than 0.1% of hydrogen peroxide are only legally available for use by registered dentists.

This will results in results being significantly less effective than chairside whitening solutions or take home whitening kits. Patients suffering from intrinsically discoloured teeth may find these products to be completely ineffective.

If you’d like to learn more about the different types of teeth whitening available in Singapore, we have dedicated guide on everything you’ll need to know before getting started on teeth whitening.