The dentist’s office is probably top of the list of places that strike fear into the heart of any sane person – the medical smell, the sound of the drill, the dreaded chair. The American Dental Center, however, is nothing like this. Located in a villa in Khalidiyah, we were surprised to find it decked out in cool dark woods, crammed bookshelves and soft sofas (plus an entire wall covered with dental certificates) – a grown-up, comfortable setting that was nothing like the sterile environment that haunted our childhood nightmares. Aside from the homely decor, the staff were friendly and welcoming. Claudia Vercelli, the registered dental hygienist who was to be performing the treatment, greeted us and instantly put us at ease, answering all of our questions and talking us through each step of the whitening so we knew what to expect.
Claudia offered us two choices – the in-office whitening or the home kit. She explained that, while both had good results, the in-office treatment was more instantaneous. Having always wanted a shining white set of gnashers, this was a dream come true, and we couldn’t wait to see the results, so we opted for the in-office treatment, which also comes with a week’s worth of home bleach. Of course, before we got to the dazzling Hollywood smile stage, there was the two and a half hours in the dentist’s chair with a mouthful of gauze stage to contend with.
Claudia explained that we could have anything between one and four 15-minute sessions in one sitting, depending on the level of sensitivity we experienced – a common (and temporary) effect of the treatment – saying, ‘It doesn’t damage the teeth, so we could do as many sessions as you wanted if it weren’t for the sensitivity. If you experience any discomfort, please tell me. This is cosmetic, after all – it’s supposed to be fun!’
For the treatment, we had two appointments. The first visit was so Claudia could look at our teeth and check if they were suitable for whitening. She explained that teeth with a ‘yellow tint’ whitened better than those with a ‘grey tint’, and if we had any fillings, crowns or dental work on the teeth that were to be whitened, they would be mismatched after the treatment because the bleach would not change their colour. Fortunately for us, we were a perfect candidate (a heavy black coffee habit to thank for that one), so arranged the follow up appointment two days later.
As we settled into the chair, Claudia started off by giving our teeth a gentle clean and taking impressions for a mould for the home kit, taking some before shots (so we could see the difference) and then moving on to applying the gauze to protect our gums and cheeks from the bleach. This, she explained, was the most time-consuming part. Still, call us strange, but we actually found it quite relaxing. We’d been told we could bring our iPod and listen to music, so while Claudia and her assistant got to work, we drifted off to some relaxing tunes. Once every section of our mouth had been covered, the bleach was applied and a special UV light shone on to our teeth to speed up the whitening process.
We managed two sessions before the sensitivity started to get too much for us. Oddly, it was only located in our bottom teeth – coming on every few minutes and feeling a bit like an electric shock not quite the ‘excruciating pain’ one colleague had warned us to expect, but far from pleasant. We could hardly wait to see the result – and it was a resoundingly successful one; a natural-looking shade of clean white, and a set of teeth that had lost their previous ugly yellow tint. Claudia then took the after shots and instructed us on how to use the home kit, saying our teeth would be even whiter by the time the full course of bleaching was finished. We would heartily recommend the whitening to anyone who is self-conscious about the shade of their teeth and has the cash to spare – the results speak for themselves.
Zoom whitening Dhs3,000 for in-office, Dhs1,800 for home kit. American Dental Center, Khalidiyah, behind BMW Showroom (02 681 2921)
