Teeth Whitening in Essen-Rüttenscheid: Professional Bleaching

Bleaching chemically alters pigments within the hard tooth structure. Common whitening gels contain hydrogen peroxide or substances that release hydrogen peroxide. This can make natural teeth appear lighter.

This clearly distinguishes bleaching from professional teeth cleaning. Professional teeth cleaning primarily removes deposits, biofilm and external staining. Bleaching, by contrast, targets the colour of the natural tooth itself.

People whose main concern is staining from coffee, tea or tobacco on the tooth surfaces may therefore benefit from professional cleaning first. After cleaning, it is easier to assess whether additional whitening is desired and appropriate.

More about professional teeth cleaning

Not every type of discolouration is treated using the same method. The practice offers three different approaches.

In-office bleaching at the practice

With in-office bleaching, whitening is carried out under dental supervision at the practice. Before application, the teeth, existing restorations and gums are assessed. The soft tissues are protected from the highly concentrated gel during treatment.

For this type of teeth whitening, The practice uses Opalescence Boost 40%. Opalescence Boost 40% is chemically activated; light activation is not required for the product to work.

How many applications are appropriate during one appointment and whether further treatment steps are necessary depend on the initial tooth colour, the teeth's response and the desired medically appropriate outcome. For this reason, a specific number of shades of whitening is not promised.

Home bleaching

Home bleaching is also available. The actual application takes place at home, but only after a dental assessment and according to an approach planned for the individual case.

The main advantage is that whitening can take place gradually. At the same time, this method requires reliable use in accordance with the instructions provided. Concentration, wearing time and total treatment duration should not be taken indiscriminately from online instructions; they depend on the system being used and your individual starting situation.

Internal bleaching of a single dark tooth

A root canal-treated tooth can become discoloured from within and may therefore appear significantly darker than neighbouring teeth. External bleaching does not always address this adequately.

In suitable cases, internal bleaching may therefore be considered. After dental assessment, the whitening agent is placed inside the previously root canal-treated tooth. Beforehand, it must be determined, among other factors, whether the existing root canal treatment and remaining tooth structure allow this approach.

Internal bleaching is therefore not a treatment variant for healthy vital teeth, but a separate clinical situation.

Bleaching may be considered primarily for people who would like to change the colour of their natural teeth and whose dental examination does not reveal conditions that should be treated first.

Before whitening, the following questions are particularly important:

• Are the teeth to be whitened free from untreated caries?
• Are fillings, crown margins and other restorations intact?
• Are the gums sufficiently healthy?
• Is significant tooth sensitivity already present?
• Are we dealing with external deposits or discolouration within the tooth?
• Are there visible fillings, crowns, bridges or veneers whose colour may no longer match after bleaching?

Whether bleaching is suitable in your individual case can therefore only be assessed meaningfully after an examination.

This is one of the most important points in treatment planning: bleaching changes the colour of natural tooth structure, but it does not change the colour of existing ceramic or composite restorations.

As a result, crowns, bridges, veneers and tooth-coloured fillings may become more noticeable in visible areas after whitening because their colour remains unchanged. If aesthetic restorative treatment is already planned, the sequence of treatment should therefore be discussed in advance.

It may be appropriate to establish the desired tooth colour first and only then colour-match new visible restorations to it. Whether this is necessary in an individual case, and what interval is appropriate, depends on the specific treatment plan.

More about veneers · More about dental restorations

Professional teeth cleaning may be appropriate before bleaching if deposits or external staining are present. The German Dental Association recommends removing tartar, deposits and superficial discolouration before teeth whitening.

In practical terms, there is another benefit: after cleaning, the actual tooth colour can be assessed more accurately. In some cases, removing external staining may already partially satisfy the aesthetic concern.

Whether professional teeth cleaning is necessary immediately before bleaching in your case depends on the clinical findings and should not be determined by a rigid general rule.

The result varies from person to person. The initial tooth colour, type and cause of discolouration, tooth structure and whitening method all influence how much of a change will be visible.

For this reason, we do not make guaranteed promises such as “x shades lighter”. Even two people with apparently similar starting tooth colours may respond differently to bleaching.

The purpose of the consultation is instead to discuss a realistic change based on your individual starting situation while also considering how existing fillings or ceramic restorations will fit into the overall appearance.

Bleaching can cause temporary tooth sensitivity. A stronger response to cold, heat or touch is typical. The German Dental Association identifies hypersensitivity as the most common side effect, and current reviews likewise confirm tooth sensitivity as a relevant adverse effect of professional whitening.

It is not possible to predict with certainty how strongly this will occur. Teeth that are already sensitive may react more noticeably. Temporary gum irritation is also possible if whitening gel comes into contact with soft tissue.

For this reason, a blanket statement that “bleaching does not hurt” would not be medically responsible. If you already have sensitive teeth, this should be discussed before treatment.

This question cannot reasonably be answered with a blanket “never”. The product, concentration, method of application, condition of the teeth and frequency of treatment are all relevant.

Professional systems are therefore used following a dental examination and according to the relevant instructions for use. It is also important that untreated caries, defective restorations and other relevant conditions are identified before whitening.

Unsupervised use of unverified concentrations, excessively frequent repetition or use that does not follow the intended instructions should not be equated with controlled professional teeth whitening.

A whitened tooth does not necessarily remain at exactly the same shade permanently. Teeth can gradually change colour again over time.

How quickly darkening becomes noticeable depends on factors including individual tooth structure, oral hygiene and the consumption of staining foods and substances. Coffee, tea, red wine and tobacco can all play a role.

The German Dental Association describes a possible duration of several months up to approximately two years, while emphasising that this depends on individual factors. This does not provide a guaranteed duration for an individual patient.

Whether and when a touch-up is appropriate should therefore not be determined according to an automatic annual schedule.

Both methods can lighten natural teeth, but they differ primarily in how they are carried out and in their concentration concepts.

In-office bleaching is performed directly at the dental practice. During application, the treatment and protection of the soft tissues are managed by the dental team.

Home bleaching is carried out at home following dental planning. Whitening is spread over a longer application period and requires correct use by the patient.

Current scientific reviews do not show that one single method is universally the best option for every patient. Both in-office and home approaches can alter tooth colour; differences include application, treatment timeline and potential sensitivity.

Which option is appropriate for you therefore depends on more than which method sounds “stronger”.

Bleaching and veneers address different problems.

Bleaching primarily changes the colour of natural teeth. It does not change tooth shape or tooth position and does not replace missing tooth structure.

Veneers, on the other hand, can alter the shape, surface and visible proportions of a tooth in certain aesthetic situations. They are a restorative treatment and are planned very differently from teeth whitening.

If tooth colour is the only concern and the tooth structure is otherwise suitable, a restorative treatment should therefore not automatically be chosen. Conversely, bleaching alone may be unsuitable if the aesthetic concern primarily involves tooth shape, existing restorations or individual structural changes.

More about veneers

As a guide, bleaching at the practice costs approximately €300.

The actual cost depends on the clinical findings, selected method, scope of treatment and individual effort required. In-office bleaching, home bleaching and internal bleaching represent different treatment situations. The stated price is therefore not a binding fixed price for every possible form of teeth whitening.

Bleaching requested for cosmetic reasons is generally a privately paid treatment. If there is a particular medical or insurance-related situation, the question of costs should be clarified individually.

The medical statements on this page were cross-checked in particular against current patient information from the German Dental Association (BZÄK) and current scientific evidence regarding professional bleaching procedures and tooth sensitivity. Information regarding Opalescence Boost 40% describes the product used at the practice and its manufacturer-stated characteristics; no guaranteed treatment outcomes are derived from these specifications.

Editorial review date: 8 August 2026. This page does not replace an individual dental examination or consultation.