Candidate for Zoom Whitening After At-home Teeth Bleaching?

Zoom after at home is a GREAT way to get enhanced results. The advice from your dentist is likely simply trying to be conservative and perhaps fear of letting you down. Depending on your expectations, whitening can be great for some people and terrible for others. If you are expecting blinding white, Zoom may not be the answer. If you are looking for an upgrade from where you are now, Zoom should really enhance your previous efforts.

The teeth that respond best to Whitening are ones with yellow/ orange type stains from organic matter such as coffee, wine, etc. If your teeth are grey, it is because of your enamel being thin and not from staining. Therefore, your teeth wont lighten as well. Zoom after at home whitening is possible as long as you take a few weeks break in between and go on a high fluoride toothpaste to avoid sensitivity.

There might be something about the grayness in your teeth that has your dentist concerned, as gray or very translucent teeth can be more difficult to whiten. In general, you can ZOOM whiten after at-home whitening. In fact, we just faced this same situation in our office last week as a woman was not satisfied with her at-home tray whitening. 2 days after her ZOOM appointment, she returned for her final shade check and said she was "completely happy" with her whiter... more

I think your dentist may be steering you in the right direction. If you do sufficient at-home bleaching it should get you to the same end result as zoom. Zoom often isn't as effective as at-home bleaching. Some teeth are more conducive to bleaching than others. Translucent, gray or brown teeth dend not to respond well. Yellow responds best.

You can do Zoom after take home trays. The problem is how much whiter they will become. If the trays were initially made correctly and the treatment performed properly, the final shade, after Zoom, may only get marginally whiter. Helping patients understand this is the only negative. Many patients hate using the trays and never performed the initial treatment for those patients using the Zoom will work great and the trays can be left to touch up with after cleanings. see video

There is no reason you can not have in office bleaching with ZOOM after doing home bleaching. Grey colors are the toughest to get an outstanding result and each time you bleach your teeth, the results may become more subtle. It is a good idea to wait a few weeks, to allow your teeth to rehydrate and to use Flouride rinses between bleaching sessions to help minimize any senesitivity you might experience.