STORY: BLEACH SENSITIVITY

SCRIPT #503 SHOOT: 3/4/03

AIRDATE: Monday, April 7, 2003

Daybreak and Midday

DHC #17 Timecode: 41:00 Bleaching your teeth so you have a whiter

smile can cause some sensitivity, especially

when you drink your morning cup of coffee.

Should you be worried about it?

Is bleaching really a bright idea?

Dr. Linda Niessen has some answers

about sensitive gums or teeth during

bleaching in today’s segment of Dental

SOVT: 1:49 Health Check.

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TEETH BLEACHING (VOICE-OVER)

No other cosmetic procedure has gained

more popularity in recent years than

teeth whitening.

CLOSE-UP OF BLEACH TRAY But many patients develop sensitivity,

either in the teeth or the gum tissue, or

sometimes both.

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP BRIDGE)

Let’s be clear about this…

After 30 years of study,

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen :14-19 bleaching does not harm your teeth. Baylor College of Dentistry Sensitivity goes away quickly, usually

within a day or two. But you should

understand what causes the problem

and what to do about it.

MORE BLEACHING You can cut down on the time you

bleach. One hour should be

plenty of time to get results with

dentist-prescribed bleaching products

containing carbamide peroxide such as Colgate Platinum, Nite White, Opalesence, or Nupro Gold.

SUPER: Cristin Hartman :42-47 (“I was putting too much in so I came back

Bleaching Patient and got retrained on how much of the gel to put in. And also, the tray was too high so

we cut it down to make it pretty impossible

for me to miss.”)

Page 2 Bleach Sensitivity

CRISTIN PUTTING BLEACH IN TRAY Cristin Hartman complained of both

teeth and gum sensitivity. One

problem was too much bleach in

her custom trays.

CRISTIN (“In the beginning you’re trying to get

the hang of how much to put in the tray. I

know now.”)

More BLEACHING PRODUCTS Cristin’s dentist also recommended

a weaker concentration of the whitening agent.

SUPER: Dr. Tammy Weyandt (“Sensitivity varies from person to person.

Dentist 1:07-1:20 It’s nice to have the trays at home with

the whitening solution so the patient can

control how much they’re using and therefore control their sensitivity.”)

DENTAL EXAM Gums and teeth must be healthy before

you start to whiten your teeth.

DR. WEYANDT (“Tooth sensitivity could be due to micro cracks within the tooth structure.

It could be due to decay. It could also be

due to gingival recession if the gums have

receded away.”)

(ON CAMERA) (STAND-UP CLOSE)

Here’s one last tip, if you develop

sensitive gums during bleaching,

apply the liquid in a Vitamin E

capsule directly to the gums. It will

HOLDS UP VITAMIN e capsule take the sting away almost immediately.

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas

A & M System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen.