We count ourselves lucky to have been blessed with impeccably straight gnashers, of which we’ve been the proud owner for over 20 odd years. But 20 odd years of hard usage can leave you feeling a little self-conscious about smiling. Particularly if your complexion is a tad on the pale side, and you’re living in a society where we’re all inundated by airbrushed advert-people sporting Hollywood ‘bling’ grins. Long story short, we caved in, sold out, and went to see what all the fuss is about this laser whitening business. Luckily we chose a decent dental clinic.
Destination: Khalifa Street. In a building sandwiched between NBAD and Al Noor Hospital, Barbara Orthodontic and Dental Polyclinic is a small, clean place with friendly staff. Dr. Aliaa Hamed Rashid, is the resident specialist prosthodontist (interesting word, that), which meant we’d be in her and her assistant’s hands for the next hour. The two got us to lie in the dreaded dentist’s chair and the assistant put a bib on us (indignity number one). Then out went the lip piercing, in went the plastic lip-spreading mouth-piece (indignity number two) along with some gauze to soak up the saliva (indignity number three), and we no longer wanted to be able to see ourselves in the overhead mirror.
Dr. Aliaa is not only reassuring, she makes the effort to explain the procedure every step of the way. The first step involves applying a gum guard at the root of every tooth to prevent the whitening gel from damaging our gums. This is heavy duty stuff after all. It contains a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide. And here is where the ‘laser’ thing comes in. Now we have to break it to you, it’s not actually laser. It’s just light, which acts as a stimulant, speeds things up and gives more effective results.
So science lesson out the way, let’s get back to the dentist’s chair, in which we were wearing a funky pair of shades as protection from the abovementioned light, lips still spread apart and teeth on display as Dr. Aliaa applied the paste and her assistant vacuumed up the saliva collecting in the corners of our mouth. Then they too donned the same shades I was wearing, and the blue light came on. It all looked like it could be some crazy scene out of ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’.
Now, there was no pain involved whatsoever, though this might vary from one person to the next, and will most probably depend on the sensitivity of your teeth. We were particularly pleased with how comforting Dr. Aliaa was, because the procedure (as with any visit to the dentist) is very invasive. In such a state of utter vulnerability, where your personal space is occupied completely, you will find yourself staring into mid-space. This is our natural attempt to maintain our personal boundaries. And this mid-space is exactly where we were, at the time, inwardly imagining worse things, like cosmetic surgery. The things we humans will endure for vanity is truly bizarre.
During our visit, we underwent two applications of the bleaching gel. Throughout, Dr. Aliaa kept asking whether we were feeling any pain or discomfort. ‘Uh-uh’ was the response until the very end. In fact, it was only after the hour-long session was over, when we’d spat, gargled and tidied ourselves up, that we began to notice a slightly chilly sensation. ‘It will go away soon,’ said Dr. Aliaa and presented us with an instruction card about upkeep for the following few days. Her advice was to avoid staining or coloured foods, very hot or cold drinks and to apply fluoride toothpaste to reduce sensitivity.
And the results? We are now the proud owners of teeth that (according to the shade detector machine) are eight shades whiter than they were. Furthermore, we spent the last three days smiling at our reflection with renewed vanity. And the mirrors, they do not lie.
One visit to Barbara Orthodontic and Dental Polyclinic for laser teeth whitening costs Dhs3000. The price of follow-up sessions vary. They can also provide a home bleaching kit (with your personal mould) for an additional Dhs1500. The clinic is open Saturday, Monday and Wednesday 12 noon-8pm and Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 10am-6pm. Khalifa Street (02 626 9898).
