Hollywood Whitening Versus ZOOM
Why is Zoom inferior?
* Treatment preparation time is significantly longer and less comfortable for the patient. The light emitted from the Zoom system with no filtration contains high levels of Ultraviolet light. The UV exposure puts the patient at risk from sun burning during the procedure and therefore the doctor is instructed in the Zoom operational manual to block out ALL PINK TISSUE in the mouth of the patient. In the video sent the with Zoom system the doctor is instructed to use gingival barrier to completely seal the gum tissue first. Then, the doctor is to use gauze and cotton rolls to fill the exposed inner cheeks and margins along the lips and gums. The doctor is instructed to place gauze sheets inside the mouth to cover the tongue and to seal or “glue” the gauze and cotton rolls together with the remaining gingival barrier and light cure this additional material to prevent any exposure of the pink tissues to the light emitted from the Zoom lamp. Obviously when you compare the preparation of a 2 to 3 millimetre gingival margin barrier required with the Hollywood Whitening technique to the lengthy preparation with the Zoom system, it is easy to imagine an additional 10 to 15 minutes of chair time when preparing the patient for treatment.
This longer preparation time is not only unwelcome to the dentists, but also uncomfortable for the patient. Additionally, the patient can no longer breathe through their mouth, further placing the patient to more discomfort.
The gingival barrier and complete protection of the pink tissue cannot be guaranteed. During either the Hollywood Whitening or Zoom procedure, the patient will inadvertently move his or her mouth as the cheek retractor is never completely comfortable and keeping the mouth completely still for the entire treatment is unlikely. As the patient moves his or her mouth, the gauze and/or cotton rolls used during the Zoom procedure inside the mouth and glued together with gingival barrier can easily tear apart. If there is any tear at all, the patient risks getting sunburn inside the mouth during the treatment. Subsequently, in between cycles, the doctor must check the barriers to make sure no tears have appeared during the cycle and correct any tears and cover any newly exposed areas before resuming the treatment. This adds even more time to the treatment.
* Without any filtering of the light, the UV exposure creates heat inside the mouth. As heat builds up inside the mouth during the treatment, further trapped by all the cotton and gauze, there is increased risk or damage to the tooth pulp and increases in post-treatment sensitivity. Teeth and gum tissue that is warm and exposed to the gel at the same time will have a higher risk to develop serious sensitivity. In our discussions with doctors that have used the Zoom system, they complain that many patients cannot complete the last cycle as the teeth are already very irritated and sensitivity becomes unbearable. As a result, many refuse to pay for the treatment as they cannot finish the entire procedure.
* The intensity of the light is too weak. Since there is no filtration, the Zoom system uses a weaker light source inside the lamp head to control some of the risk of heat, sensitivity and UV exposure. As a result, the treatment time must be extended to three cycles of 15 to 20 minutes each in order to get good results. The problem is that such a long amount of time with teeth exposed to the gel (as well as the UV and heat) creates even more risk of sensitivity both during the treatment as well as after the treatment is complete. The patient is also in the chair no less than 1 hour and in many cases nearer to an hour and a half to complete the treatment.
One additional point that you may face: Zoom adds a chemical to their gel called Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP) which is a proven desensitizing agent. Some dentists may ask you about this chemical and if we use it in our gel too. WE do not use it, and the reason is the chemical, in our testing, acts as barrier to the gel penetrating deep into the teeth. Unlike Fluoride, ACP gets in the way of the whitening gel as it travels deep into the dentin to oxidize those difficult stains. Instead of treating the sensitivity this way and reducing the results, we use fluoride – also a proven desensitizing agent – and insist on making the treatment time as short as possible through better, safer, light-acceleration and shorter patient prep time and chair time. This is the best way to make sure the patient sees the best results with little or no sensitivity.