The most effective & best teeth whitening treatment you can receive is a professional teeth whitening session at the dentist. The dentist has access to specialized whitening products & knows how to whiten teeth quickly & effectively. However, if you aren’t ready to invest in a professional teeth whitening, you may be tempted to buy an at-home whitening kit at your local drugstore or pharmacy. But do these kits really work?
The quick answer is yes. Over-the-counter teeth whitening products use the same chemicals as professional teeth whitening products at the dentist. The difference is the store-bought kits have these chemicals in much lower concentrations, so they are less powerful.
The bleaching agent in most kits is peroxide, which can remove both surface stains & deeper stains. Professional whitening technology also relies on peroxide-based bleaching agents. The difference is that the dentist uses a high concentration of bleaching chemicals over a brief amount of time, & the at-home kit uses a low concentration of bleaching chemicals over a longer period of time. Bleaching at the dentist usually lasts less than an hour & is often accelerated by a shining a special light on your teeth. Bleaching at home usually involves wearing strips, trays filled with gel, or a painted-on gel for a few hours per day, over the course of several days or weeks.
One common problem that makes at-home whitening less effective than professional teeth whitening from the dentist is inconsistency in applying the treatments. Many people start the treatments & repeat them on a regular basis for a while, then forget or stop when they don’t see an immediate difference. The key to ensuring the whitening treatments work is following the directions & doing the treatments as frequently as you’re supposed to.
A good way to ensure you actually complete your at-home teeth whitening process is to set a white teeth goal on your calendar. By this we mean: pick a special event coming up in the near future & make yourself a promise to have whiter teeth by then. Choosing an event where you’re likely to get your photo taken a lot is a good idea, such as a birthday, anniversary, or a wedding. For brides especially, we recommend whitening your teeth before the big day. Nothing will make yellow teeth stand out quite like a white dress!
Before you go out & buy an at-home whitening kit, it’s a good idea to have a chat with the dentist. Only a dental professional will be able to tell you whether teeth whitening, whether professional or from the drugstore, will work the way you want it to.