Store-Bought Teeth-Whitening Products
Instead of having a one-hour in-office teeth whitening treatment, you can whiten your teeth at home using a store-bought product. Since teeth whitening has become so popular, the stores eagerly offer shelves of whitening strips, whitening toothpaste, whitening kits, and other such products. This is a situation of:
Caveat Emptor — Buyer Beware
- Do not use whitening toothpaste
To avoid it, you will have to search through the shelves to find one that does not say “whitening” on the box. So-called “whitening” toothpastes will actually yellow your teeth over time. They remove your tooth enamel as well as whatever is on it. Under the enamel is a yellow layer called the dentin and as your enamel becomes thinner, worn away by powdered metal or whatever other gritty ingredients are used, the dentin will show through more.
- Save your money and do not buy whitening kits
These kits are not customized to your mouth. The whitening gel may or may not be strong enough for effectiveness and it will certainly not be in close and even contact with your teeth. What are the chances that the generic trays they contain will fit snugly over your teeth? When the trays fit unevenly, you will have uneven results. When they are loose, saliva will get into them and dilute the whitening gel, making it less effective. Also, whitening gel will ooze out of them and you will be swallowing it.
- Whitening strips may help
Some people have moderate results from use of whitening strips. About a third of people who use these experience teeth sensitivity so it is best to start out with a weaker whitening gel such as six percent. You may also have gum irritation because the strips have straight edges, whereas your line of teeth has a scalloped edge. This means the strip will be against your gums in between each tooth. Again, you could try six percent strips or ten percent and see how it goes.
If you would rather not have an in-office teeth whitening procedure, Dr. Sands can provide a take-home kit for you with custom-made trays that will fit snugly. You can choose mild, moderate, or strong whitening gel and the kits contain a supply of desensitizing gel in case you do develop tooth sensitivity. You would also be welcome to contact us with any questions or problems.
To learn more about teeth whitening, please contact our Beverly Hills, California dental office today.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
