Internal Bleaching
This is when the bleaching product is put inside the tooth. Internal bleaching can only be carried out on a tooth that has been successfully root treated.
If the nerves and blood vessels in teeth are damaged through decay or a knock, the tooth may become darker than the adjacent teeth, and require root canal treatment.
In order to do internal bleaching we create an access hole (if it's a front tooth, the hole will be on the back so that you can't see it) and put the bleaching product into the hole. This will usually be the hole already used for the root treatment, although it may need to be enlarged slightly. The hole will be sealed with a temporary filling, leaving the bleach inside the tooth. The procedure won't hurt because the tooth has no nerve inside it.
You will need to return about a week later to have the temporary filling and bleach taken out. If you're happy with the new shade, we will fill the hole with a tooth-coloured filling. Sometimes, if the colour hasn't lightened enough the process needs to be repeated.
Occasionally, internal bleaching needs to be combined with other whitening techniques to achieve the desired effect.
