Teeth Whitening Post Operative Instructions

IMMEDIATE POST OPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

The next 48 hours are important in enhancing and maximizing your whitening results for a long lasting, bright and healthy smile.

Spotting: Color Spotting on the teeth may occur after In-Office Whitening due to temporary dehydration of the teeth. This should diminish within a few days after treatment. The whitening process will continue for 48 hours after treatment.

Sensitivity: During the first 24 hours after whitening treatment, some patients can experience some tooth sensitivity or pain. This is normal and is usually mild, but if you are experiencing significant sensitivity, call our office for guidance. Normally, tooth sensitivity or pain following a treatment subsides within 24 hours, but in rare cases can persist for longer periods of time. You may wish to take an over-the-counter pain reliever (one you would use for a headache). Some patients experience sensitivity such as “zingers” or thermal sensitivity 12 to 24 hours after whitening. Brushing your teeth with sensitive toothpaste, such as Sensodyne, or Fluoridex Daily Defense Sensitivity Relief toothpaste for the weeks following the procedure is strongly recommended.

Now that your teeth are significantly whiter, there are a few guidelines to help maintain the look of your new smile. The teeth have a protective layer called the protein pellicle. This layer contains the surface dental stains and is removed during whitening treatments. It takes 24-48 hours for the barrier to fully develop again.

For the next 48 hours post treatment, we recommend avoiding dark staining substances, such as:

• Red wine, Cola, Coffee and tea
• Berries such as cherries, blueberries, strawberries, dark grapes
• Tobacco products
• Red sauces, mustard or ketchup, soy sauce, salsa and other red sauces
• If it will stain your clothes, it will eventually stain your teeth
• Colored lipstick
• Colored mouthwash including PreviDent Fluoride Rinse

If your daily homecare involves the use of Peridex or any Chlorhexidine, please wait 48 hours before continuing the usage of this product.

Additional ways to maintain your smile:

• Avoid staining related habits.
• Use an automated toothbrush like Oral B io or Philips Sonicare.
• Regular professional dental hygiene care to maintain oral health, keep staining to a minimum.

Practice good oral hygiene by tooth brushing, flossing, and tongue cleaning. We will assist you in selecting the products to maintain not only a white smile, but a healthy one as well!

Store any remaining whitening gel in the refrigerator for later touch ups. Remove gel from fridge immediately prior to use.

LONG TERM MAINTENANCE

The KöR Long-Term Maintenance program involves simple, periodic whitening at home. Patients do not have to undergo the entire whitening protocol again because they have not built up the same amount of staining debris as they had before the first time they whitened (which for most people is a lifetime). Instead, whitening during maintenance only needs to remove staining debris that has accumulated since they last whitened.

PATIENTS WITHOUT TETRACYCLINE STAINS, FLUOROSIS AND DARK STAINS:

-Whiten 1 night(s) a month to 1 night every other month indefinitely (6-12 uses per year) depending on how much relapse you are seeing

-If you whitened your teeth at home for 2 weeks, with or without subsequent in office whitening, you were provided sufficient gel for 1 year of maintenance. If you whitened your teeth for 4 weeks, please purchase 1 double pack of gel with our reception team.

PATIENTS WITH TETRACYCLINE STAINS, FLUOROSIS AND DARK STAINS:

Most patients can maintain their white smile by whitening once per month at home. However, some patients with more stubborn conditions (such as Tetracycline staining) may require more of a customized maintenance program, based on their specific case and initial prescribed whitening protocol.

In some cases, the KöR Accelerated Maintenance program is a recommended step for patients to maintain the results of their initial prescribed whitening protocol. Regression is common in whitening, but particularly prevalent in difficult cases, such as staining resulting from Tetracycline and/or Fluorosis. Accelerated maintenance, immediately following the active phase of whitening, helps to minimize whitening regression

After the patient has completed their initial prescribed treatment plan, the KöR Accelerated Maintenance would be implemented, which is essentially a gradual reduction of whitening occurring between the initial prescribed everyday whitening protocol and the eventual one night per month maintenance program.

TETRACYCLINE STAINS

YEAR 1:

• Whiten 5 nights a week for a month (20 uses)
• then Whiten 4 nights a week for a month (16 uses)
• then Whiten 3 nights a week for a month (12 uses)
• then Whiten 2 nights a week for a month (8 uses)
• then Whiten 1 night a week for a month (4 uses)

After Accelerated Maintenance, the color is as set as it will ever be, and patients continue with a standard Long- Term Maintenance protocol:

• Whiten 1 night(s) a month to 1 night every other month indefinitely (12 uses per year) depending on how much relapse you are seeing

You have been provided with 1 double pack of maintenance gel. You will need to purchase 4 additional double packs of refill gel with our reception team to provide maintenance gel for 1 year

YEAR 2+:

• Whiten 1 night(s) a month to 1 night every other month indefinitely (12 uses per year) depending on how much relapse you are seeing,

1 double pack of refill gel will cover maintenance for a year.

You have been provided with 1 double pack of maintenance gel. You will need to purchase 4 additional double packs of refill gel with our reception team to provide maintenance gel for 1 year. Subsequently, 1 double pack of refill gel will cover maintenance for a year.

FLUOROSIS AND DARK STAINS

• Whiten 3 nights a week for a month (12 uses)
• then Whiten 2 nights a week for a month (8 uses)
• then Whiten 1 night a week for a month (4 uses)
• then Whiten 1 night every other week for a month (2 uses)

After Accelerated Maintenance, the color is as set as it will ever be, and patients continue with a standard Long- Term Maintenance protocol:

• Whiten 1 night(s) a month to 1 night every other month indefinitely (12 uses per year) depending on how much relapse you are seeing.