Guide · Teeth whitening

How much does teeth whitening cost in Edinburgh?

Short answer: at City Dental Care, dentist-prescribed home whitening starts from £350 — around £29 a month on 0% finance. The longer answer is worth two minutes, because the whitening market is full of products that aren’t comparable and offers that aren’t legal.

What the £350 actually buys

• An assessment first — checking your teeth and gums are healthy to whiten, and that whitening will actually fix your kind of discolouration.
• Custom-made trays — moulded to your teeth, so the gel sits where it should and not on your gums.
• Dentist-only whitening concentrations — far stronger than anything legally sold over the counter.
• Supervision — your dentist monitors progress and adjusts the plan, rather than leaving you guessing.

Why shop products and salon offers aren’t the same thing

Over-the-counter strips and whitening toothpastes are limited by law to very low concentrations — results are weak, short-lived, and one-size-fits-nobody trays can irritate gums. And a harder truth: in the UK, tooth whitening is legally dentistry. Only GDC-registered dental professionals may perform it. A salon or beautician offering whitening is breaking the law with your mouth — chemical burns and permanent damage are the documented risks of getting this wrong.

So when you compare a £99 salon offer with £350 at a dental practice, you are not comparing two prices for one product. One of them shouldn’t exist.

When whitening isn’t the answer

Whitening lifts staining from coffee, tea, wine, smoking and time. It does not change the colour of crowns, veneers or fillings, and internal discolouration (for example after a root canal) may need a different approach such as internal bleaching. That’s why the assessment comes first — so you only pay for what will genuinely work on your teeth.