Would Repurchase: Philips Zoom teeth whitening

Welcome to Would Repurchase, the content series that honestly reviews the products we've tried and tested. We’re lucky enough to try a lot of things at Yahoo Lifestyle Australia, and these are the products and experiences we'd be happy to spend our own hard-earned dollars on.

As a pre-40th birthday present to myself, I spent roughly $10,000 on Invisalign recently to get my teeth straightened.

But when I finally got the glued-on attachments off after 18 months of treatment, my gnashers didn’t quite have the glamorous Hollywood look I’d been expecting. Even though I’d been brushing my teeth religiously after every meal, they just weren’t very... shiny.

Enter Dr Gamer Veridian, celebrity dentist to most of the influencers whose smiles you’ve been coveting on Instagram.

In a stroke of perfect timing, just as I was wondering whether I’d made a huge orthodontic mistake, Gamer reached out to offer a Philips Zoom whitening session – how could I say no?

Arriving at Dental Lounge, Dr Veridian’s clinic on Sydney’s Macquarie St, I was quickly ushered into a consulting room with a large flat-screen TV mounted directly in front of the dentist chair. This would later prove to be a giant asset.

Gamer and I had a short chat about what I was hoping to achieve with the whitening process – whiter teeth, basically – and then it was time for a thorough scale and clean, just like the ones your normal dentist gives you every year. This ensures a clean surface for the whitening products.

Once everything was spotless, Gamer took a mould of my mouth to create an at-home whitening program for post-treatment aftercare, to ensure the effects would last beyond the initial clinical treatment.

Then his assistant syringed an expandable moulding foam along my gumline so that the bleaching agent would only make contact with my teeth. Finally, the whitener was painted on and a UV light was set up to shine onto my teeth and accelerate the treatment.

For 15 minutes, I lay back and watched Netflix as the light warmed my mouth and the bleach did its thing, completely painlessly. So far, so good. Another round of 15 minutes followed and I was able to finish an episode of Kath & Kim.

Then, the final round started and things started to get a little uncomfortable. A few minutes into the session, a sharp, zingy pain kicked off in my upper left canine, and there was no predicting when it was going to hit. It was bearable, but by no means pleasant.

And that was it! My teeth were now beautifully glowing and pearly, without looking like I’d attacked them with a bottle of White-Out.

Gamer sent me on my way with a post-care pack of mineralising gel to combat any subsequent zingy sensations and sensitivity.

The final piece of the puzzle, that really sets Gamer’s treatment apart from other dentists, is the aftercare. He takes a mould of your mouth before you leave, and later sends a package containing an at-home Philips Zoom treatment system. This includes your custom-fitted trays, both the bleaching and remineralising gels, and even a swanky Philips Sonicare toothbrush.

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