Book review - Tooth Whitening Techniques

Were you properly taught about tooth whitening at uni? I wasn't. Everything I learned about it came from what my VT trainer told me and then a few snippets from the forums and one lecture at a conference a few years ago. I had naively been thinking that was good enough and that I was pretty knowledgable about whitening having provided it many times over recent years. Now I realise how little I actually knew.

So when I was offered a copy of Linda Greenwall's recently revised book "Tooth Whitening Techniques" to review I jumped at the chance as I thought it might help to deepen my knowledge of these techniques that are in such high demand. To be clear, I was not paid for writing this review but was offered a copy of the book itself in return instead.


If you have any interest in improving the cosmetic appearance of your patients' smiles or in minimally invasive restorative dentistry (so surely that must be pretty much everyone), then I would strongly recommend this book. It is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of tooth whitening including:


Why teeth discolour
The science of tooth whitening
Treatment planning for whitening
All the various treatment options and techniques available
Managing complex cases or multidisciplinary cases
Tooth sensitivity
The business of tooth whitening


The scientific aspects of tooth whitening have been extremely well presented with reference to a lot of scientific articles. It feels very well researched and very balanced. I can definitely say that my understanding of tooth whitening has been vastly improved because of reading this book.


It isn't perfect. When read over a short time it can feel a little repetitive, presumably because each of the chapters have been created to work as standalone sections rather than repeatedly telling the reader to go to other chapters etc. And although the photography is extremely useful in each chapter, as multiple contributors have been involved from around the world the standard of those photos does vary. Most of the photos are excellent but not all. To take it to the next level it would be great to have all the photography standardised but I know this would take a lot of effort from one or two individuals. Neither of these things are big criticisms that detract from the usefulness of the book as a whole but I always like to give an honest and balanced review.


Overall I can give "Tooth whitening techniques" a very strong recommendation. I will certainly be going back to this book to revisit key concepts and finer details over the coming years. If you wish to purchase the book for yourself it is available here: https://amzn.to/2qWmQMo