Philips Zoom And Pola Night: Dentist Take-Home Whitening Explained
By Daniel Smith, founderShare
Philips Zoom and Pola Night are both dentist whitening systems built on peroxide, made by two different companies. Philips Zoom, from Philips, comes as two take-home gels worn in custom trays (DayWhite at 6% hydrogen peroxide, NiteWhite at 10% or 16% carbamide peroxide) and as Zoom WhiteSpeed, an in-practice treatment that uses hydrogen peroxide with a blue light. Pola Day and Pola Night, from SDI, are take-home gels: Pola Day at 6% hydrogen peroxide and Pola Night at 10% or 16% carbamide peroxide. In the UK, whitening products above 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, present or released, are for dental practitioners to supply, and the 6% hydrogen peroxide gels in both ranges sit at the top of that dentist-only tier. Below: what each product is, how long each is worn according to its maker, how carbamide peroxide relates to hydrogen peroxide, what UK law says word for word, and where peroxide-free whitening at home fits.
Two makers, often searched together
Philips Zoom is made by Koninklijke Philips N.V., the company behind the Philips name. Pola Day and Pola Night are made by SDI, which describes them on its own UK English site. They are separate products from separate companies.
The reason they turn up side by side is search, not chemistry. Google's own keyword tools group "polanight" with "philips zoom nite white" as close variants, so the two names are often searched together. Both are dentist whitening systems built on the same two active ingredients, hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide, which is why one explainer can cover both. Everything below about either product comes from its maker's own UK pages, read in October 2026, and we keep the two apart throughout.
What is Philips Zoom whitening?
On its UK consumer page, headed "Professional teeth whitening", Philips lists three options: Zoom! Take-Home DayWhite, Zoom! Take-Home NiteWhite and Zoom! In-Office. Its UK professional page, written for dental practices, says the take-home range is "Available in hydrogen peroxide (HP) and carbamide peroxide (CP) formulas".
On its consumer page, Philips captions its gel "Dentist-developed gel" and says it has "molecules" that "move beyond the surface of your teeth, working to remove stains from wine, coffee and tobacco built up over time." That is the brand's own description, and we do not comment on how well another company's product works. The dentist who supplies it is the right person to ask about the result you can expect.
Zoom DayWhite and NiteWhite: the take-home gels
Philips' professional take-home page lists three product configurations, with the wear times it gives for each:
| Product | Strength, as Philips states it | Wear time, as Philips states it |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom DayWhite | 6% hydrogen peroxide (HP) | 30 to 60 minutes once a day, or 30 to 45 minutes twice a day |
| Zoom NiteWhite | 10% carbamide peroxide (CP) | 4 to 6 hours, or overnight |
| Zoom NiteWhite | 16% carbamide peroxide (CP) | 4 to 6 hours, or overnight |
The same page sums it up as "DayWhite 6% HP can be used either once or twice a day, and NiteWhite can be used overnight." On the consumer page, DayWhite is "designed for patients seeking a flexible take-home solution", and NiteWhite is worn for hours or overnight, "allowing the slow-release formula to work while you sleep."
The gel is not worn on a strip. Philips lists what comes in the take-home kit: "A quick start guide with clear instructions. EVA material for custom trays. 6 syringes with whitening gel. Tray case for convenient storage. Shade guide to track progress." So the gel goes from a syringe into trays made from EVA material, shaped to your own teeth. Philips also describes a "Dual-barrel technology" that keeps "the active gel and booster agents separate until patients apply gel to trays".
Zoom WhiteSpeed: the in-practice treatment
The third option is carried out in the dental chair. Philips' UK in-office page names the system Philips Zoom! WhiteSpeed and says it uses "both hydrogen peroxide and intense blue light", with "Blue LED light technology" and "Three customizable intensity settings". The kit contents listed on that page include "2x 6% chairside gel syringe". On the consumer page, the brand's line for this option is "Achieve your whitest smile in a single visit".
What is Pola Night, and Pola Day?
SDI's UK English product page calls the range "Pola Day + Pola Night" and describes it as "tooth whitening gels" in "a take home kit". The site files both under take-home whitening, Pola Day as hydrogen peroxide and Pola Night as carbamide peroxide. The strengths and treatment guidelines, as SDI lists them:
| Product | Strength, as SDI states it | Treatment guideline, as SDI states it |
|---|---|---|
| Pola Day | 6% hydrogen peroxide | 1 or 2 times 30 minutes a day, or once for 45 minutes a day |
| Pola Night | 10% carbamide peroxide | 2 hours to overnight |
| Pola Night | 16% carbamide peroxide | 90 minutes to overnight |
Like Zoom's take-home range, Pola is a tray system. SDI's instructions have you place a small drop of gel in each compartment of the tray, seat the tray, and wipe away any excess. After the treatment you remove the tray, rinse the tray and your mouth with lukewarm water, and brush. SDI describes the gels as "high viscosity, neutral ph" with "high water content".
Your dentist decides whether either range suits you, which strength, and how long you wear it. The guidelines above are the maker's, not ours.
Carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide
Both makers sell a daytime gel in hydrogen peroxide and a night-time gel in carbamide peroxide, and the difference matters because UK law is written in hydrogen peroxide.
Carbamide peroxide is a compound that breaks down to release hydrogen peroxide. The American Dental Association (ADA), a United States source, calls hydrogen peroxide "a strong oxidizing agent", and says the bleaching process "is generally believed to occur when reactive oxygen molecules (generated from hydrogen peroxide) interact with organic chromophores (colored compounds) within enamel and dentin through a chemical oxidation process".
That is a general statement about the chemical, not a figure for either brand. Neither Philips nor SDI gives a hydrogen peroxide equivalent for its carbamide gels on the pages we read, so we are not going to work one out for them. What the law asks is simple to state: a carbamide gel is judged by the hydrogen peroxide it releases, not by the number on the label. If you want the chemistry of peroxide in more depth, including what it does to teeth and gums, it is set out in what hydrogen peroxide does to teeth.
Philips Zoom and Pola Night under UK law
The rule that decides how these products reach you is the hydrogen peroxide entry, number 12, in Annex III of the cosmetic products regulation as it stands in UK law. The entry covers "Hydrogen peroxide and other compounds or mixtures that release hydrogen peroxide, including carbamide peroxide", and it sets two tiers for whitening:
- Oral products, including tooth whitening or bleaching products, at 0.1% hydrogen peroxide or less, present or released. This is the level that can be sold to the public.
- Tooth whitening or bleaching products above 0.1% and up to 6% hydrogen peroxide, present or released. The regulation's conditions, in its own words: "To be only sold to dental practitioners. For each cycle of use, the first use to be only done by dental practitioners or under their direct supervision if an equivalent level of safety is ensured. Afterwards to be provided to the consumer to complete the cycle of use." And: "Not to be used on a person under 18 years of age."
Zoom DayWhite and Pola Day are both labelled at 6% hydrogen peroxide, which is the top of that second tier. For the carbamide gels, the regulation applies to the hydrogen peroxide they release.
Philips' own UK pages reflect the dental route. The take-home details sit under "Dental professionals", the page points patients elsewhere with "Looking for information as a patient?", and orders are placed through the Philips Dental ProShop "for your dental practice". Under the regulation, a 6% hydrogen peroxide product such as Zoom DayWhite or Pola Day is to be sold only to dental practitioners, with the first use of each cycle done by or under the supervision of a dental practitioner, and not used on anyone under 18.
Who is allowed to carry out whitening on another person is a separate question with its own regulator, and our post on UK teeth whitening law explained covers both rules together. The same tiers apply to another dentist brand we have written about, and how Opalescence fits the UK rules works through it in the same way.
How long do you leave Philips Zoom on?
It depends on the gel, and the maker's figures are the ones in the tables above. On Philips' professional page, DayWhite 6% is worn for 30 to 60 minutes once a day or 30 to 45 minutes twice a day, and NiteWhite at either strength for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. On SDI's page, Pola Day 6% is worn once or twice a day for 30 minutes, or once for 45 minutes, Pola Night 10% for 2 hours to overnight, and Pola Night 16% for 90 minutes to overnight.
Those are manufacturers' guidelines for products that a dentist supplies and sets up. The routine you follow is the one your dentist gives you.
How much does Philips Zoom cost in the UK?
Neither maker publishes a patient price on the UK pages we read, and we do not quote a figure for another company's treatment. The fee is set by the practice. For the general picture, including the price ranges Bupa Dental Care publishes for dentist whitening and how long results are said to last, see our UK guide to your teeth whitening options. For how a dentist's tray course compares with whitening you do yourself, our post on dentist vs home whitening weighs the two.
Why we wrote this
I am Daniel Smith, and I started Pure Glow. Before that I spent fifteen years at Jaguar Land Rover, six of them in health and safety. That is not dental regulation and I will not pretend it is, but it is part of why I care what goes into something people put on their teeth. When I started Pure Glow I bought every whitening strip I could get hold of and catalogued every fault, and I spent ten months testing before settling on the formula we use now.
Philips Zoom and Pola Night are dentist products, and a dentist is the person to ask about them. What we can do is set out what each maker says on its own UK pages, and the regulation in its own words, so you can check every line yourself.
Where peroxide-free whitening at home fits
If what you want is to whiten at home without a dentist supplying the product, the 0.1% limit decides how much peroxide a product sold to you directly can contain. Peroxide-free whitening uses a different chemistry, so that cap is written for something it does not contain.
Our PAP+ whitening strips use PAP, phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid, and the ingredients on our box contain no hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. PAP is an oxidising agent. It lifts surface stain, and it also works on the coloured compounds inside the tooth, by a gentler route than peroxide takes. The chemistry is explained in how PAP whitening works.
There are no trays and no syringes, and why we left peroxide out altogether is on our page about peroxide-free teeth whitening. The course is one treatment a day for 14 days, an upper and a lower strip each time: brush, dry your teeth with a towel, and wear the strips for a minimum of 30 minutes. A sip of water while they are on is fine. The strips are dry-fit with a no-slip grip, so they stay where you put them, and clean removal leaves no messy residue behind. The result is up to 6 shades whiter in 14 days, depending on where you start.
The formula is clinically tested for zero sensitivity, dentist approved and enamel safe, and sensitivity has its own page on whitening strips for sensitive teeth. It carries hydroxyapatite, which supports the enamel surface, and xylitol, which helps reduce the bacteria that cause plaque build-up; the full formula is on the page for our whitening strips with hydroxyapatite.
They are not suitable for children under 12. They will not change the base colour of a crown, veneer or filling, though they can lift staining that has built up on top of one. And the 14-Day Two-Shade Guarantee applies: if you are not at least two shades whiter, you get a full refund.
None of this is a comparison with Philips Zoom or Pola Night. A dentist-supplied peroxide course and a peroxide-free strip you buy yourself are different routes under different rules, and which suits you is your call, ideally with your dentist if you have dental work or any concern about your teeth or gums.
Frequently asked questions
Is Philips Zoom whitening legal in the UK?
UK law allows tooth whitening products above 0.1% and up to 6% hydrogen peroxide only through dental practitioners. Zoom DayWhite is labelled at 6% hydrogen peroxide, the top of the tier that is "To be only sold to dental practitioners", with the first use in each cycle done by a dental practitioner or under their direct supervision, and not for anyone under 18. For the carbamide NiteWhite gels, the law applies to the hydrogen peroxide they release.
Is Pola Night the same as Philips Zoom NiteWhite?
No. Pola Night is made by SDI and Zoom NiteWhite by Philips. Both are carbamide peroxide gels worn in trays, at 10% or 16%, and Google's keyword tools group the two names together, but they are different products from different makers.
Is Philips Zoom peroxide based?
Yes. Philips says its take-home range is available in hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide formulas, and that Zoom WhiteSpeed uses hydrogen peroxide with blue light.
Is Pola Night peroxide based?
Yes. SDI lists Pola Night at 10% or 16% carbamide peroxide, and Pola Day at 6% hydrogen peroxide.
What is the difference between DayWhite and NiteWhite?
On Philips' UK professional page, DayWhite is a 6% hydrogen peroxide gel worn for 30 to 60 minutes once a day or 30 to 45 minutes twice a day. NiteWhite is a 10% or 16% carbamide peroxide gel worn for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. Both are used in custom trays.
How long do you leave Pola Night on?
SDI's guideline is 2 hours to overnight for Pola Night 10%, and 90 minutes to overnight for Pola Night 16%. Your dentist sets your own routine.
Can under 18s use Philips Zoom or Pola Night in the UK?
For tooth whitening products above 0.1% and up to 6% hydrogen peroxide, present or released, the law says: "Not to be used on a person under 18 years of age."
Ready to start whitening?
One box is a full 14 day treatment. Two boxes cover 28 days for less per strip. Free UK delivery on every order.
Related reading:
Sources:
- Philips (Koninklijke Philips N.V.), UK consumer page, Teeth whitening, read October 2026. For the three Zoom options and the brand's own descriptions.
- Philips, UK professional page, Zoom! Take-Home, read October 2026. For the DayWhite and NiteWhite strengths, wear times, kit contents and how practices order.
- Philips, UK professional page, Zoom! In-Office, read October 2026. For Zoom WhiteSpeed and its chairside gel.
- SDI, UK English product page, Pola Day + Pola Night, read October 2026. For the strengths, treatment guidelines and instructions.
- American Dental Association, Oral Health Topics: Whitening. A United States source, for how carbamide peroxide relates to hydrogen peroxide and how bleaching works.
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, Annex III, entry 12, legislation.gov.uk. For the hydrogen peroxide tiers, conditions and warnings as they stand in UK law.
- The Cosmetic Products (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2012, legislation.gov.uk. For the limits as they were brought into UK law.