Frequently Asked Questions
Philips ZOOM! is the leading professional whitening brand internationally. Used by leading dentists and hygienists, created by Philips and backed by hundreds of clinical trials, we guarantee safe, effective results of up to 8 shades whiter in as little as 1 hour. With both in-chair and take-home whitening options there is a product and a treatment to suit all types of teeth and sensitivity levels, as well as budgets.
If rapid results are what you are after, then ZOOM! Whitespeed in-office whitening is the option for you! An LED light is used in combination with hydrogen peroxide gel in anything from 1-4 x 15 minute cycles, depending on the desired outcome. The gums, as well as any areas of wear and tear are covered to prevent contamination from the gel and to help make the process as safe and comfortable as possible. It’s always advisable to combine take-home whitening with the in-chair treatment for longer lasting and more stable results.
Take-home whitening options vary from DayWhite (30-45 minute wear time) to NiteWhite (overnight) whitening options. The gel is placed in customized trays made from impressions taken of your mouth. Results vary depending on how long the treatment is continued for, but you can expect the same results as the in-chair option – it just takes a lot longer to achieve maximum whiteness. The average whitening time for take home options is anything from 24-36 days.
Many over the counter, and even some professional brands are acidic and can cause serious damage if used repeatedly. There are also people offering teeth whitening services that aren’t qualified to do so. When it comes to your teeth, you only have one permanent set, so it’s always best to choose a professional brand that’s been tried and tested, and of course one that’s recommended by your dentist or hygienist.
All our Philips ZOOM! gels contain Amorphous Calcium Phosphate which protects the enamel by remineralising and desensitising it during the whitening process. As an added bonus it even helps to restore the luster to the tooth surface.
Our dual-barelled technology keeps the hydrogen peroxide stable as an acid and only allows it to mix together with the remineralising ingredients on application ensuring a stable product that is applied onto your tooth as an alkaline ingredient and not an acid. Watch the video to see how Philips ZOOM! whitens teeth.
The results will vary from person to person but you can expect an average of up to 8 shades whiter in as little as 45 minutes to an hour of active in-office whitening, or 24-36 days of home whitening.
Yellow teeth will always whiten more easily than those with a grey or brown discolouration, or teeth that have darkened due to trauma or as a result of antibiotics during the developmental stages of the teeth. This is not to say that these teeth don’t whiten, they merely take longer and require more home bleaching in combination with the in chair options than those teeth that start off yellow in colour.
Results can last up to 2-3 years with little to no at home monthly maintenance. You can also buy the take-home syringes and continue your maintenance at home once or twice a month for as few as 30 minutes to remove any new stains that come in through diet and habits such as smoking and drinking. By doing so, results can last for many years. Patients also have the option of in-chair whitening touch ups of just 15 minutes after a cleaning appointment to keep their smile looking its best.
Your diet, as well as habits such as smoking, all play a role in how long your teeth will remain white.
Diet plays a huge role in how long your teeth stay white for. Habits such as smoking and drinking red wine also contribute to staining. Yes, you can avoid these foods, but you also want to enjoy life, right? You can increase your monthly maintenance with the take-home trays to 2-3 times per month, have a glass of water after dark drinks or chew sugar free chewing gum briefly after consuming anything dark to lessen the effects. The cleaner your teeth the longer they will stay white, so invest in a good toothbrush and floss daily. We recommend the Philips Sonicare range of electric toothbrushes.
Oral health always comes first, so gums and teeth should be healthy and disease free. It’s essential to have a dental check up and cleaning before embarking on your whitening journey. This will also ensure you get the best whitening advice for your teeth.
Whitening is not suitable for children below 16 years of age, pregnant or breast feeding patients, or persons with braces, large decay or gum disease.
Veneers, crowns or bridges can’t be whitened, nor can dentures. Enamel defects from erosion or abrasion (over-brushing) or attrition (grinding) need to be covered well during the whitening process to prevent sensitivity. This is easier for the in-chair whitening than it is for the take-home options. Patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy need to check with their oncologist first.
All teeth have nerves so there is always the potential for them to be sensitive, but this is also very easy to work around.
Your dentist or hygienist will carefully cover all the sensitive parts of your teeth so that the gel can’t get to those areas. The in-chair treatment can also be split over 2 appointments, while the take-home whitening time can be shortened to as few as 30 minutes per day. Philips ZOOM! is easy to customise for each patient – not only to ensure maximum results but minimal sensitivity too. Any sensitivity that can be experienced is temporary and goes away within a few hours. The only part of the procedure that’s long lasting are the results!
All our whitening gels have desensitising and remineralising ingredients to help look after the enamel and minimise sensitivity. Our Relief gel can be worn on its own (in your customised trays) after any in-chair or take-home whitening session to help relieve and prevent and possible sensitivity.
Professional whitening uses brands like Philips ZOOM! that are tried and tested not to cause damage to your teeth. The whitening procedure is done by dental professionals that are experts in the oral cavity extensive training on both in-chair and at-home whitening options. You are paying for top quality products as well as a professional’s time and expertise. You have one set of adult teeth, so they’re worth investing in!
It is recommended to wait 2 weeks between doing any whitening (including the take-home options) and bonding white fillings to the same teeth. Hydrogen peroxide has a high oxygen content and decreases the bonding ability of the fillings. This can over time cause leakage around the margins of the fillings and decay.
The best option is to whiten teeth first and then replace the fillings, ensuring a perfect colour match to the new whiter tooth colour. Posterior teeth that aren’t included in the bleaching process can be filled at any stage.
Teeth that are going to be crowned and veneered should not be whitened but you will need to let the colour of the adjacent teeth settle first before matching and choosing the shade of the new dental work. It’s advisable to combine take-home whitening with each in-chair whitening treatment to ensure the colour holds, before going onto the monthly maintenance. This is especially important when you are doing permanent anterior dental work and you need the colour to be as stable as possible.
If you, like the rest of us, have been staring at yourself on Zoom meetings for the past 2 years – not that happy with what you are seeing – then whitening is definitely the place to start! It’s affordable, safe, gives rapid results and is completely non-invasive! A great smile is an instant ego boost, adding a level of confidence to everything you do. We have practices all over Southern Africa, so making an appointment is super easy. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t want an extra reason to feel great about themselves?
Times vary from person to person depending on what you’re having done. The full in-chair whitening treatment consists of 4 × 15 minute sessions and this may or may not include a cleaning on the same day as well as impressions. Appointments can take anything form 1.5-2 hours for the full option.
Most practices prefer to see you for a check up and a cleaning first and then schedule the bleaching. The take-home options would involve impressions and making the trays. Some practices make their own trays and can give them to you on the same day, while others send them off to a lab, so you’d only get those a day or two later. Always make sure you are paying for customised whitening trays to be included in your kit so that you can maintain the colour at home.
Expect to pay anything from R2,500 to R7,000.
Take-home options are more reasonable as they only include the customised trays and gel, whereas the in-chair options include the expense of the ZOOM! Whitespeed materials and time, as well as the take-home kit.
Some practices include a cleaning and a check up with the full option, others just the in-chair, no cleaning and no trays. The price will therefore vary and you need to check what is and isn’t being included. Always make sure you get the customised whitening trays even if it costs you a little extra, as well as some take-home ZOOM! Day- or NiteWhite gel for maintenance.
Whitening is the general term that is so overused and actually just involves surface stain removal. This can happen when we brush our teeth with a mild abrasive, or have our teeth polished at the hygienist. Whitening can also happen with professional non-abrasive whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes that remove plaque, debris and staining during use. These products are great to maintain a healthy white smile, but can’t help you achieve the desired shade. The colour of the teeth remains the same, but they just look a great deal cleaner!
Bleaching is an internal oxidation process using hydrogen peroxide gel. It needs a minimum contact time of 5-15 minutes to penetrate into the tooth and work its way through towards the nerve. This process doesn’t damage the tooth, but changes the way the light penetrates and refracts from the tooth, making the teeth appear whiter. Professionals advertise whitening, as it sounds kinder, where in actual fact it isn’t. Bleaching is safe, effective and non-invasive. It’s one of the most affordable and effective cosmetic procedures on the market.
This is also the reason over the counter whitening products don’t change the colour of the teeth. Most don’t contain hydrogen peroxide. If they do, the concentrations are so low and the contact time is also negligible, so the oxidation process required for the bleaching to take place, can’t happen. For this reason, mouthwashes and toothpastes are whitening agents, not bleaching agents.
This video explains the ZOOM! whitening process.
Before & Afters
Whatever your reason, ZOOM! Whitening’s clinically proven in-office treatment can remove years of stains, giving you a bright new reason to smile.
