Whitening Cost and Value
What the fee covers, how it stacks up against other Dundee and Angus practices, when a hygiene clean would do instead, and the factors that set your final shade.
How Much Is Teeth Whitening in Broughty Ferry, and Does It Represent Good Value?
At Ferry Smile Studios, Boutique home whitening costs £350, or £315 if you're on a dental plan, and it's included at no charge in every Invisalign and bonding package. That fee covers an examination, trays made to fit you, professional-strength gel and a review afterwards, and the trays are yours to keep. For anyone who wants their natural teeth lighter, it is worth it: there's no other legal way to change the colour, and the result usually holds for over a year.
One Fee, Everything Included
We charge a single price for whitening here in Broughty Ferry: £350, or £315 for anyone on one of our dental plans. 1 That's the full amount, not a starting figure with add-ons. Within it you get:
- A look over your teeth and gums first, so that decay, cracks or gum trouble can be dealt with beforehand
- An iTero Lumina digital scan rather than putty impressions
- Trays made to that scan, which hold the gel against the teeth and away from the gums
- Professional-strength Boutique gel on your dentist's prescription
- A note of the shade you began at
- A review appointment to assess the result and discuss maintaining it
You keep the trays for good. Top-up gel can be bought from reception, and the team will quote the current price.
When Whitening Is Already in the Price
| Your treatment | Whitening cost |
|---|---|
| An Invisalign package, from £2,500 | Nothing extra |
| A bonding package, from £1,550 for four teeth | Nothing extra |
| Whitening by itself | £350 |
| Whitening by itself, dental plan member | £315 |
Bonding packages include it for a practical reason: composite is shade-matched on the day and can never be lightened afterwards, so the whitening comes first and the composite is matched to the new colour. With Invisalign, it's the finishing step once the teeth are straight. Our guide to whitening before bonding explains further.
Find Out How Light Your Teeth Could Go
Book a free whitening consultation with us in Broughty Ferry.
Our Fee Against Other Local Practices
Dundee and Angus practices that advertise whitening list home whitening at roughly £295 to £460, with in-surgery systems going up to about £940. Our fee, at the time of writing, falls within that band. When comparing quotes, ask whether the price covers the examination, a review, and the lower teeth as well as the upper. In-surgery whitening is more likely to cause sensitivity, and a properly managed home course generally reaches a comparable shade.
A salon or kiosk offer isn't a fair comparison at all. UK law forbids anyone other than a registered dental professional from whitening teeth, and the products used are often ineffective, illegal, or both.
Could a Clean Be Enough?
Sometimes whitening isn't needed. If the dullness is largely surface staining from smoking or years of strong tea, an Airflow clean (£100) can make a big difference, and a whitening toothpaste twice a week will help keep it that way. Neither alters the tooth's underlying colour, yet when your last clean was some time ago, it makes a sensible first step.
Teeth that are yellow all the way through are another matter: only peroxide whitening reaches that inner colour. The law caps shop-bought strips and pens at 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, enough for surface stain and little else. A dentist is able to prescribe gel of up to 6%, used in trays made for your mouth, once they've confirmed it's safe for you. Among all the cosmetic options it's the least invasive, because nothing is added to or drilled from the tooth.
The Factors Behind Your Final Shade
- Your starting colour. Yellow tones lighten most readily. Grey or brown discolouration responds more slowly, and a single tooth that darkened after an injury may need a different approach.
- Existing dental work. Crowns, veneers, fillings and bonding stay the colour they are.
- Sticking to the routine. Skipped nights make the course take longer.
- How sensitive your teeth are. Shorter sessions or an occasional night off slow things slightly without derailing them.
- Life afterwards. Tea, coffee, red wine and cigarettes bring staining back more quickly.
Everyone responds a little differently. 2 Before you begin we'll show you a realistic target shade, and if a different treatment would suit your teeth better, we'll say so.
Value Over the Years
Most people's results last at least a year, often several, depending on what they eat, drink and smoke. Because you keep the trays, a faded shade can be revived using just a little gel instead of a whole new course, and regular hygiene visits keep surface staining at bay. Spread over the time it lasts, it's among the cheapest cosmetic changes for one that people genuinely notice. The habits that make it last longer are covered in our guide to keeping your teeth white.
The Things Whitening Can't Fix
Whitening changes colour and nothing else. Chips, gaps and crowding call for bonding or Invisalign, each of which includes whitening. Any fillings, bonding or crowns on front teeth hold their existing shade, so at the consultation we'll point out any that might look darker afterwards; replacing those is charged separately.
In the UK, whitening can only be provided on a dentist's prescription. Anyone under 18 may only be given gels above 0.1% hydrogen peroxide to treat or prevent disease, so cosmetic whitening for teenagers isn't an option. We also avoid whitening during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.