Teeth Whiteners

Feelings a little not-so-fresh in your mouth? Think that people are staring at your yellowed teeth?  Want a bright new smile to wow a room?  Well, you probably look fine, but if you're set on whitening your teeth, there are a couple of ways of going about it.

A Couple Warnings Before You Start

• Bleaching may make your teeth more sensitive to heat and cold. If this persists, contact your dentist.
• It may hurt your gums.
• It takes more repetitions than you'd expect.
• It may become a bit addictive. Try to keep your expectations realistic or you'll end up with a DayGlo smile.
• Do not ingest the bleach.
• Tooth-colored fillings and caps will not bleach. You'll only draw attention to their presence if you bleach the rest of your smile.
• Bleaching works best on yellow to slightly brown teeth. Very brown or gray teeth are beyond home bleaching capability. In this case, talk to your dentist.
• If you keep your diet low on stainers, you'll have a brighter smile. After bleaching, be sure to steer clear of coffee, cola, cigarettes, red wine, and cranberry juice to keep the whitening effects longer.

Dentist-Performed Bleaching

Your dentist may apply a bleaching agent to your teeth and use a light to activate it. Special gels or covers will be put over your gums to protect them. This procedure may take 30-60 minutes and must be repeated a couple times to show good results. This will be costly. Approximately $600-$2000/visit. On average, 2-6 visits are required. More money for the at-home after care is another expense to keep in mind. Some dehydration will occur after a bleaching session. Teeth will appear whiter than they actually have become. The American Dental Association does not approve of any laser-directed treatments. Be very wary of them. If they only whiten your front teeth, the discrepancy will be apparent in your wider smile. The same goes for at-home bleaching products.

At-Home Bleaching
Dentist-Directed Your dentist makes you a mold that fits your teeth. At home you put a bleaching agent in the mold that you put on your teeth for the prescribed amount of time (a couple hours a day for a week or two). The ADA only approves the 10% carbamide peroxide, tray-applied gels (as opposed to 16% or 22% or any of the non-dentist-directed gels to the right). $200-$500 per set.	Over the Counter  Similar to the dentist-directed gels (10%, 16%, or 22% carbamide peroxide bleaching agents that you apply for several hours a day for a couple weeks) except the bleaching tray is not fitted to your mouth specifically. An ill-fitting tray may cause soft tissue irritation. Much cheaper and easier to obtain but there's no dentist to consult in case you have questions.	Whitening Strips  Apply these plastic strips over your teeth for a prescribed amount of time and watch your teeth brighten. No bothersome mold to fiddle with, however they aren't the most comfortable and they are not so thin that you can wear them in public. In an attempt to be idiot-proof, the bleaching agent is significantly weaker, and with that comes more need for repetition. Still cheaper in the long run.	Whitening Toothpastes  Mild abrasives polish your teeth and chemicals remove surface stains. Because they lack bleach, they are unable to cause any significant change on old stains, just keep you from developing new ones. Easiest and mildest but it will by no means produce the same results as if you went to the dentist for a professional bleaching treatment.	Whitening Mouthwash  This is fairly new to the market with Listerine  leading the way. Simple gargle before brushing to leave your teeth slightly brighter than before. Safe, easy, and convenient for everyday use. With a whitening mouthwash you also have the added benefit of killing germs, warding off gingivitis and periodontitis, and reducing plaque and tartar.

Related Articles

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Additional Links

• iEnhance — Comprehensive tooth whitening information.
• American Dental Association — Tooth whitening treatment information from the official dental association.
• Animated Teeth — Whitening information, in a large font.
• Dentist.net — Whitening information.
• Channel 4 — Some British advice. I hear they're the experts.
• Whiter Teeth — Even more information. Who could really have enough?