This used to be only for those who could pay through the nose for dental treatment, today the market is open and the choice is variable and economical. As with most things in life you get what you pay for, and teeth whitening is no different. There is a home, salon and dental market that does this work, so let’s start with the home kits. Available in most chemists and on the internet a home kit is simple and cheap, it consists of a gum-shield and a bleaching agent mix that does the actual whitening. First of all you have to mould the seemingly solid gun-shield into shape. To do this you soak the shield in a bowl of hot water to soften it, then you simply bite on the thing and form an impression of your teeth in the middle. This is then filled with a mixed up bleaching agent and poured into the mould. Next you place this over the top and bottom teeth and wait. The agent will whiten your teeth to a certain shade, the longer you keep the shield on, the whiter they will go, but it isn’t a perfect method. Another method is to have a gel coated onto your teeth and then agitated with an intense light source; this will leave the teeth a little sensitive for a few days. This is done usually in a salon or even in your own home; it is done by a trained technician and is very effective. The cost varies from £50 for the home kits to £400 for the light intense method. The recommended method is a veneer or a set of veneers; these are made by an orthodontist and fitted by a dentist. There are even two types of veneers available, a thin one that lasts around 3-5 years and a thicker one that can last from 10-15 years. Veneers are much more expensive, but they can be used on individual teeth, they can also cover up cracks and chipped teeth. The shade can be made to match perfectly the teeth either side of the rogue one. Whatever method you use though, you will have restrictions on future use of your teeth. Smoking and drinking red wine will be advised against as these are contributory factors to the problems that discoloured your teeth in the first place. Cleaning whitened teeth is just the same as for normal natural teeth.