How Long Will the Pain Last from Tooth Whitening?

It is very common for patients to develop post operative sensitivity for 8-10 hours following any laser whitening procedure.  We typically give the patient  400-600mg of Advil prior to the procedure to keep the pain to a minimum.  Not everyone has sensitivity , but a good portion of patients do.  As far a your the person you read about being sensitive for a year, I doubt that this was from the whitening.  I have never had a patient have sensitivity even for 48 hours, much less a year.  

Some patients will have pain after Zoom.  It will last the first 24 hours and then will be back to normal.  We have been giving patients pain medicine in the office before the treatment to make the experience so much nicer.  This does not help you now!.  Try to take some Alleve and call the Dentist office and ask for a something for pain.  Try to keep air off of your teeth as this makes the teeth sensitive.  

Usually a patient might experience mild to moderate sensitivity during or after the procedure.. It usually might last maximum for some days.. Clinically if everything is well and it's only sensitivity it can be managed by desensitizing agents..

Nikki, thank you a for a great question. I am sorry about your experience. If whitening procedure was done properly, sensetivity to cold and air is transient and will disappear within 24 hours.Good luck!

Some pain/sensitivity during and after the teeth whitening procedure is very normal.
The degree of this pain varies among patients and can be more in some patients, however it is almost always transient in nature and goes away in a couple of days.
Your dentist would prescribe a desensitising toothpaste or gel to apply which will help in relieving the pain.

The pain is from your teeth being stripped of some of the elements that block communication between the outside world and the inside of the tooth or "pulp chamber". Its a common post-op problem and can be very painful. Its easy to fix though. All you need is a good coating of fluoride from either a professional application or from a high strength fluoride toothpaste like Fluoridex, or Prevident 5000. Both of these are prescription only so if you are unable to get your doc to prescribe these, the next best option is Sensodyne. You should get some siginificant relief after the first 1 or 2 uses. If you continue to have sensitivity, ask your dentist about a stronger desensitizing application. There are several that work well, like CalmIt and GLUMA. Good luck!

Hi Nikkid,
Sorry to hear that you are experiencing pain after the tooth whitening procedure.
The pain that some patients have after the in office whitening represent itself with what we call "zingers" - sharp pain in some teeth that comes and goes and lasts only for a couple of seconds.
This pain will not be a permanent pain on those teeth, most likely it will go away 24 hours after the procedure. It is caused by the dryness of the natural teeth and 24 hours later the teeth will go back to normal.
In the meanwhile we recommend patients to take pain medication which they normally use for headaches and also to avoid cold drinks. We dispense in the office a desensitizing gel called ACP gel.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Mina Levi DDS

As long as your dentist did a full checkup for you, your pain will be linked to your whitening procedure and not because you had a 'sleeping' abscess in one of your teeth.  
It is common to experience pain during and after tooth whitening but only for a few days
Sensitive teeth to begin with or active decay, gum recession and enamel abrasion, will need to be placed on high fluoride prior to whitening, or have the abrasion areas covered with resin.
Active decay areas have to be treated before the whitening treatment can begin. 
Take home bleaching with custom trays administered for 14 days is more effective and less sensitive (especially if it contains fluoride - like Illumine) than in-office Zoom whitening.
Good luck with this - 
Thomas Dey, BDS, MSc

Teeth get somewhat dehydrated from teeth whitening and become like little sponges that can absorb color. This is why it is recommended to avoid colored foods for at least 24 hours. I usually recommend 48 hours to be safe. This dehydration is the same reason teeth may be a bit sensitive. This sensitivity only lasts about 24 hours and can be helped with sensodyne toothpaste and over the counter anti-inflammatories. Follow us for more info.

If laser whitening is performed by your dentist, there is no pain. Other options will result in sensitivity. However, the pain is caused by dessicating or overdrying out the tooth. This opens up the tubules, which are like pipelines to the nerve. However, there are always risk with teeth whitening, resulting in post-op sensitivity, but rare with laser whitening.