If yours isn’t here, just ask me — call or text 021 630 907. I’d rather answer it than have you guess.
Mine is $260 for a laser appointment, $285 for custom take-home trays, or $430 for both.
Prices vary a lot across the country. Clients regularly tell me they’ve been quoted around $600 for trays and $700 or more for in-chair whitening at dental practices.
$260 for the appointment, and that’s the whole price — no consultation fee, nothing added at the end.
Follow-up whitening for returning clients is $140 when booked within three months, with other returning-client offers available after that. And if you already have custom trays, top-up gel is $45 for one syringe or $70 for two.
If you’re weighing up a very cheap at-home kit, read the “do home kits work” answer below first.
About 65 minutes from start to finish, including your consultation.
The whitening itself is three applications of 15–18 minutes each, with gum protection, shade readings before and after, and your aftercare advice around them.
I also send you a video consultation before your appointment, so the time on the day goes on your specific questions and on the treatment itself, rather than on the basics.
You’ll have a video consultation from me beforehand, so you arrive already knowing what to expect.
On the day we talk first — about your teeth, the staining, what you’d like, and what’s realistic for you. Then your gums are protected, the gel goes on, the retractor is fitted and the light is positioned.
After that there’s nothing for you to do. Three applications, 15–18 minutes each, and most clients watch Netflix while I check on you throughout.
Most people have one and are very happy with it.
Whitening is progressive though, so if you’d like to go further you can. Some clients come back for a follow-up appointment, others take custom trays home and carry on at their own pace.
A professional gel travels through the microscopic spaces in your enamel and breaks down staining from within — both the surface marks from coffee, tea, wine and smoking, and the deeper colour that settles inside a tooth over years.
A light is used to speed that reaction up, which is how an hour achieves what home products take weeks to do.
For most people, no. Nothing sharp, no drilling, nothing to brace yourself for.
You’ll have a cheek retractor fitted so your lips stay clear of the gel, which feels odd for a moment and then you forget about it.
Yes. My Christchurch studio is located at my home, but it’s a private, dedicated professional treatment room used specifically for my clients.
Appointments are completely one-to-one, so you’ll have the space to yourself throughout your visit.
You’ll receive full arrival instructions before your appointment, including where to park on McKenzie Ave.
On McKenzie Ave, then walk up the lane. You’ll get full arrival instructions before your appointment.
Most of my clients see around 10–14 shades of improvement, measured before and after with a shade guide.
Teeth are individual though. Your starting shade, natural tooth colour and the type of staining all matter. If your teeth are already particularly white the change will be more subtle — perhaps 3–6 shades — and I’ll tell you that before we begin rather than after.
Yes — and I measure it, so you don’t have to take my word for it. Shade reading before, shade reading after.
The people who tell me whitening “doesn’t work on them” have almost always only ever tried supermarket strips or a cheap home kit. Those work on the surface only, so they can’t reach the staining underneath.
How much difference professional whitening makes does vary from person to person — your starting shade, your natural tooth colour and the type of staining all play a part. Most people see a real, measurable change; if your teeth are already quite white it will be more subtle, and I’ll always tell you what’s realistic before we begin.
Longer than most people expect, but it isn’t permanent — and I’d be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.
Teeth are porous, so they gradually pick up colour again from coffee, tea, red wine and everyday life. How quickly varies enormously; some people’s teeth are more porous and dull faster, others hold it far longer. You’ll usually notice a slight softening after a few months, but it takes a very long time to return to where you started.
I’ve had clients walk back in two or three years later whose teeth still look fantastic.
No. Nothing is. Anyone claiming otherwise is overselling.
Custom trays are how you keep it where you want it — top up at home whenever you feel you need to.
As often as you like. It won’t harm or damage your teeth.
I have clients who come back religiously every three months because they love keeping them really white. Six months is probably the sweet spot for most people — good for results, and kinder on the wallet.
If you have custom trays you can top up yourself whenever you want. I’d generally suggest about once a month, though plenty of clients do it more often to stay ahead of staining. Some simply like them as white as possible, and there’s no harm in that.
No. Whitening gel travels through the microscopic spaces in the enamel and breaks down staining from within — it doesn’t strip or sand anything away.
What genuinely does cause damage is the advice circulating online: charcoal, lemon juice, baking soda scrubbing. Those are abrasive, and I’ve seen the results.
Most people feel nothing at all.
Based on my own clients, the majority report no sensitivity. Some have something mild and temporary, and a smaller number a little more. When it happens it usually settles within a day.
Usually, yes. Use Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief for a week or two beforehand and tell me before we start. There’s plenty I can do to keep you comfortable.
Safety comes down to the product, the concentration and whether the person using it knows what they’re doing.
Your gums and lips are protected throughout, and the system I use filters out UV and heat before it reaches you. I check your teeth before we start, and if something needs a dentist first I’ll tell you.
Your natural teeth will whiten. The dental work won’t — it’s colour-matched when it’s made and that shade is permanent.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t whiten, but if you have any across your front teeth we should talk before you book. And if you’re planning cosmetic dental work, the order you do things in matters enormously.
Please ask your doctor or midwife first. They know your situation and I don’t, and I’d always rather you had that conversation than take my word for it.
For what it’s worth, there are no proven adverse effects from teeth whitening during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
With the laser appointment you ingest little or no gel, so that’s the option I’d be most comfortable with.
Custom trays I’d suggest leaving until afterwards. Over a course of home whitening you’d swallow a certain amount of gel, and while nothing proves that causes harm, I’d rather be cautious than clever.
Whitening doesn’t harm or damage teeth, so there’s no hard minimum — but in practice I don’t tend to treat anyone under 16.
Teeth usually haven’t picked up much staining by that age, so there’s often very little to gain from it.
The exception is where there’s a medical or genetic reason for someone’s teeth being darker than usual. If that’s your situation, I’m very happy to talk through the options with a parent or guardian present.
Yes, and I’d rather say so than take your money.
If you have untreated decay, gum disease, a cracked tooth or dental pain you haven’t had checked, please see your dentist first. Whitening over a problem doesn’t solve the problem.
It depends entirely on what you’re using.
Off-the-shelf kits use much weaker products, and in my experience the small LED lights included with many of them add very little. That’s why so many people try one, see barely any change, and assume their teeth simply don’t whiten.
Usually that’s not the problem at all.
Custom trays are a different story. Made specifically for your teeth and used with professional gel, they work extremely well — on their own or alongside an in-clinic appointment.
Trays, comfortably — provided they’re custom-made.
Strips sit on the surface and don’t follow the shape of your teeth, so they miss the edges and gaps. A fitted tray holds professional gel exactly where it needs to be.
It can help with surface staining and it’s fine to use. It won’t change the underlying colour of your teeth, because it can’t reach it.
Anything dark.
Tea, coffee, red wine, dark staining sauces. My rule of thumb: if it would stain a white chopping board, it can stain your teeth.
Be strict for the first 24 hours, and sensible into the second day.
The reason is simple — for the first day your teeth are temporarily a little more susceptible to picking up colour, which is the flip side of how well they’ve just whitened. That settles quickly, so just give them the day.
One careful day for a result that lasts is a fair trade.
Please tell me.
I’d always rather have the opportunity to take another look, talk through your result with you and make sure you’re happy than have you walk away disappointed.
“Terri makes you feel comfortable and at ease. It’s like visiting a friend and coming away with the bonus of much whiter teeth which last.”
Ask me. Call or text 021 630 907 — a photo of your smile helps.
I genuinely enjoy this part. Even if the answer is something I don’t offer, you’ll get an honest one.
4 Youngston Lane, Christchurch
Private, dedicated treatment studio located at my home.
Appointments generally Tuesday–Saturday · By appointment only
Need another day? Just ask — I’ll always do my best to accommodate you.