THE PROCESS

STEP 1 ‘White’ teeth are different for everyone. The main determiners are the colour of your eyes and hair. Dental assistant Carlene Swart (above) shows me the colour we’re going for.

STEP 2 I’m offered a painkiller – this isn’t helping my nerves, and I brace for terrible pain.

STEP 3 Carlene places a retractor in my mouth to keep it open, and covers my gums with a protective gel. My lips are covered with a cloth and I get a pair of goggles. ‘Everything must be covered because we use 25 percent hydroperoxide – if you were to put it on your skin, it would burn,’ Dr De Beer explains to me.