Getting your teeth whitened can instantly boost your smile—but one woman is encouraging people to be cautious after a whitening procedure gone wrong left her with burned gums.
Áoife Wills shared details of her experience in a Facebook post that’s now gone viral. Wills says she went to a beauty salon to get her teeth whitened and “put my trust in these people to do their job correctly.” Unfortunately, it seems like things didn’t go according to plan.
As a result, Wills says she is now in “serious pain.” “I had to go to the dentist today to get them checked and get an X-ray,” she said. “Thankfully my teeth haven’t being damaged. I am very lucky.”
Still, she said, her dentist doesn’t know how her gums will heal after the experience. “Dentist explained that there should have being a protective gel put on the gums before the procedure which did not happen,” Wills said. “It has nothing to do with my teeth or gums!! Simply their fault!! Seriously anyone looking to get teeth whitened please go to a dentist and get it done correctly!!”
In the accompanying photos, Wills gums look dark around her teeth, and even charred in some spots.
After her story started blowing up, Wills offered more updates in the comments section. She did have a root canal done on her front tooth, so she didn’t expect that part to whiten like the rest of her teeth, she wrote. “But I have no problems with my teeth or gums, I visit the dentist regularly!! Yes I was in discomfort getting this done but I am good with pain and never dreamt that this could be burning me!” she added “I made a mistake by trusting these people, however that doesn’t excuse what has happened my mouth.”
It’s hard to know exactly what went wrong here, but “it does look like the gums were burned by the whitening agent when the ‘protective gel’ was not properly placed,” says Mark S. Wolff, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.
When you have your teeth whitened at a dentist’s office “we block out the gums with a barrier material so that the teeth are isolated,” says Julie Cho, D.M.D., a general dentist in New York City. “Any bleach that seeps into the gums can burn the tissues. Fortunately, that will go away, but in the meantime will be terribly raw and sensitive.”
That’s because these pro bleaching agents are no joke. They’re “strong and caustic to the gums, and must be used by skilled practitioners,” Dr. Wolff says.
How can you ensure your teeth are whitened safely?
While Wills’ story is freaky, Dr. Wolff says it’s possible to have your teeth whitened safely and effectively—you just need to go to the right person to do it. “Dentists tend to deliver safe whitening,” he says.
Your dentist knows how strong of a bleaching agent to use, Dr. Cho adds. “For patients who have never bleached, I would recommend starting out with an over-the-counter bleach that has a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide,” she says (typically found in products like Crest Whitestrips). “This will allow patients to gauge their level of tooth sensitivity and the responsiveness of their teeth to the bleach.”
Keep in mind, though, that there are some potential side effects of whitening no matter who does it, including sensitivity to cold, irritation of the gums, and whitening that doesn’t look the way you expect.
Ultimately, going to a dentist you trust should help ensure that you get the safest whitening experience possible, Dr. Wolff says. But, if you really want to whiten your teeth and are nervous about how strong in-office whitening agents are, it’s okay to use products from the drugstore, says Dr. Wolff. Most of them can be effective and totally safe when used as directed.
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