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.

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