In-Office Whitening vs At-Home: What's The Cost Difference?

Dr Phillip Miller explains that before choosing a teeth whitening treatment, it's important to understand what's actually causing the discolouration. He walks through the two main categories: extrinsic staining, caused by particles from things like coffee, tea, red wine, or smoking that sit on the outside surface of the teeth, and intrinsic staining, which sits inside the tooth structure and won't be removed by cleaning alone.

He notes that most teeth whitening products outline three main treatment categories: over-the-counter strips, professional take-home kits, and in-office treatments that are fully supervised by dentists. Dr Phillip explains that the differences largely come down to supervision and gel concentration.

Over-the-counter products use the lowest concentration and have no supervision, making them the least expensive but also the most limited in effect. In-office whitening, by contrast, is fully controlled and supervised, using a much higher strength gel that can give effective results. Take-home kits sit in between the two, offering a good result with guidance from a dentist on how to use them.