Is Teeth Whitening Effective As Claimed?
Everyone loves a dazzling white smile. As a result, teeth whitening treatments are the most requested cosmetic dental procedures every year, with Americans spending $ 2 billion a year to keep their smiles appearing whiter and brighter.
Your teeth become discolored over time by drinking coffee, red wine, and smoking. Aging also contributes to teeth discoloration, similar to some medicines like tetracycline. If you want to brighten your smile, you can find many options available from a teeth whitening dentist or drugstores. This article provides some tips to help choose the best whitener for you.
How Does Teeth Whitening Function?
Teeth whitening is identified as any process making your teeth appear brighter and whiter. You can achieve your goal of having whiter teeth either by using these bleaching or non-bleaching whiteners. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has clarified that bleaching can only be used when a product has bleach. Many products without bleach are merely considered whiteners to remove food or debris from the teeth without bleaching them. The FDA issued the clarification after the terms bleaching and whitening were used interchangeably by many providers.
Hydrogen or carbamide peroxide are the primary ingredients of bleaching products. These products remove extrinsic and intrinsic stains on the teeth causing them to become lighter than their natural shade.
What Is in Bleaching Products?
The active ingredient in dental whitening products purchased from drugstores contains hydrogen or carbamide peroxide in low concentrations of seven percent. The actual bleaching agent is hydrogen peroxide, with carbamide peroxide breaking down into hydrogen peroxide.
The bleaching products dispensed by dentists contain more potent ingredients than the variety purchased over the counter. Dentists use concentrated whiteners having as much as 35 to 45 percent peroxide than store-bought whiteners. Dentists dispensed and over-the-counter whitening kits also contain glycerin, carbopol, sodium hydroxide, and flavors.
Why Must You Get Teeth Whitening from a Dentist?
Teeth whitening treatments from dentists are recommended even by the American Dental Association after a consultation. Dentist 90069 recommends the optimal whitening options for you and supervises the treatment to avoid complications.
Professional whitening treatments are best accomplished in the dentist’s office in approximately an hour. The procedure involves applying a teeth whitening gel with 25 percent to 40 percent hydrogen peroxide and aiming a unique heating lamp at your teeth for three 20 minute intervals. The whitening gel is reapplied between the intervals. Some dentists use lasers to accelerate or activate the whitening process. Your lips, gums, and tongue are protected by a protective barrier from the whitening gel to keep it remaining on your teeth.
You receive whitening trays for at-home use from the dentist for optimal results. You can follow up at home with bleaching ingredients dispensed by the dentist.
Teeth whitening treatments from dentists cost around $ 650 for in-office treatments and $ 300-$ 400 for the at-home custom trays.
Teeth Whitening at Home
Over-the-counter teeth whitening products are popular as they are affordable and easy to use. They contain lower concentrations of peroxide than the ingredients used by dentists. Some people report excellent results with over-the-counter products, although they take more time to deliver results. Whitening kits available over-the-counter include whitening trays, strips, toothpaste, deodorant, and others, and the prices for these products are between $ 25-$ 100.
If you are concerned about your tooth enamel, you must accept the recommendation of the ADA and choose dentist-supervised whitening as optimal for your needs. If you decide to use over-the-counter whitening products, you must look for the ADA Seal of approval.
Whitening Trays
Whitening trays are another method you can use for whitening your teeth at home. However, dentists recommend and dispense take-home whitening kits containing a higher percentage of bleach for best results.
Dentists customize the trays explicitly for your mouth after taking custom molds of your teeth to create the trays from flexible plastic. Customized trays ensure the bleach remains in close contact with your teeth for optimal results. In addition, the trays prevent your saliva from diluting the bleach. You may not receive customized trays over-the-counter, making you susceptible to sensitivity because of leakage of the bleaching ingredients.
Some whitening rinses claim they can deliver results and also freshen your breath and reduce dental plaque. You are merely required to swish them in your mouth twice a day before brushing to view results and wait for 12 weeks to see visible differences. However, experts believe the short time you give to the mouthwash is insufficient to produce your desired results.
If you want teeth whitening results in an instant, the best option for you is to contact the teeth whitening dentist and undergo dentist-supervised teeth whitening treatment, helping you remove extrinsic and intrinsic stains from your teeth.
