Should I expect pain after Zoom Whitening treatments?

Sensitivity is the #1 risk when getting your teeth whitened. Whether you choose to whiten at home using Crest White Strips of have your dentist do it professionally in his office, there is always the possibility that you will experience some discomfort. My orthodontic patients have had varied reactions ranging from absolutely no pain or sensitivity whatsoever to a few who are in so much pain that they cannot eat or sleep for the rest of the day and into the night. The problem is that you never know ahead of time how a given patient will respond. I decided that if I was going to offer whitening to my patients, I was going to take every precaution available to keep their sensitivity to a minimum. Here are the steps I take with my patients (as suggested by the Zoom company itself):

1. Two weeks brushing with Floridex (which is included in my fee) prior to the procedure
2. 600 mg Advil 1 hour before whitening
3. 1 hour wearing bleaching trays filled with APC desensitizing gel before whitening
4. Complete isolation of gums, lips, and spaces between the teeth during whitening
5. 1 hour wearing bleaching trays filled with APC desensitizing gel after whitening
6. 200 mg Advil as needed during the next 24 hours after procedure

One thing is consistent with my patients, having taken these precautions, I've never had anyone who still had sensitivity the next day. You should plan on sensitivity, take every precaution to prevent it or minimize it, and then be patient the rest of the day and through the night knowing that the sun will come up tomorrow and you'll have whiter teeth. (Can you see how our precautions distinguish us from the bleaching kiosks in malls and at Costco?)

Sensitivity is something you should discuss with your dentist before proceeding with treatment.  In our office sensitivity with Zoom hasn’t been an issue.  We take a lot of steps to make sure thfere’s no sensitivity.  Every patient uses Sensodyne toothpaste and ACT for 2 weeks prior to treatment.  We then administer 400mg Ibuprofen prior to the procedure.  We also provide a 20 minute fluoride treatment before the patient leaves our office.

It’s impossible to predict your results without examining you first.   Zoom does a great job in removing stain.  But if your teeth are “naturally yellowish” you may not see much of a difference.  Ask your dentist about what results you can expect. Good Luck!

I researched many whitening sytems from deep bleaching to Sapphire Whitening. Along the way, i happened to read a blog called rebecca's pocket. If you are not sure the best route to go, i would look at this blog. After reading stories on this blog  and other comments from patients and friends, I decided not to go with Zoom. Sometimes the best comments are the testimonials of patients who have experienced this procedure. You need to hear the pros and cons from patients as well as what the dentist prefers to do in his practice. We now use a number of whitening gels and we do use the sapphire whitening system with the sapphire light that emits no UV rays and we seem to have a happy group of whitening patients that leave our office!  Hope this was helpful!