A dentist's whitening in Kampala costs UGX 400,000 to 900,000. A home kit costs UGX 30,000 to 60,000. Here is what the home kit can and cannot do, and how to use one without hurting your gums.
What is in the gel
Home whitening gels use carbamide peroxide, usually 16 to 35%, which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and lifts stains from the enamel. The number matters: 16 to 22% is the sensible home range. 35 to 44% is dentist strength and will hurt if it touches gums. Our whitening gel syringes at UGX 30,000 and the LED kit at UGX 45,000 are in the home range.
The LED light
The blue light in a kit mildly speeds up the gel. It is not doing the whitening itself; the gel is. A kit without a light works, just a little slower. Do not pay double for a light.
What to expect
- Two to four shades lighter over one to two weeks of daily 20 to 30 minute sessions.
- Yellow stains respond best. Grey or brown stains from antibiotics or fluorosis barely move; that is a dentist job.
- Crowns, veneers and fillings do not whiten. If you have a front crown, the teeth beside it will get lighter and it will not.
- Results last six months to a year, less with coffee, tea, red wine and smoking.
How to use it without pain
- Brush, then dry the teeth with a tissue. Gel on a wet tooth slides onto gums.
- A thin line on the front of each tooth, not a blob. Wipe any gel that touches the gum.
- Twenty minutes, then rinse. Skip a day if you feel a zing when you breathe in.
- Use a sensitivity toothpaste for the two weeks; it makes the difference between finishing and quitting.
Stop and see a dentist if
Gums turn white where gel touched them (a chemical burn, it heals but stop for a week), a tooth aches rather than zings, or you have a cavity you have been ignoring. Whitening gel in a cavity is genuinely painful.
Kits are delivered across Uganda in a plain parcel from the personal beauty range, and you can pay on delivery in Kampala.
