Info on best tooth whitening

Why a Tooth Whitening System?

Tooth whitening systems provide a wide spectrum of alternatives, ranging from low-priced whitening strips on the low end to expensive but generally effective professional dental whitening services. There is a plethora of tooth whitening systems to be had today. Why do teeth become yellowed? This is because individuals consume caffeine-containing drinks, smoke, get exposed to antibiotics, and just plain get older. Teeth whitening is an effective path to reverse this process, and is so successful that 95% of persons undergoing the system do confirm some improvement.

Whitening Strip Method

Whitening strips are able to accomplish a good job of whitening the exterior tooth surfaces, but achieve a poor job of bleaching the teeth divisions and cracks. A dark division between whitened teeth may look like a bad cavity. If you do not utilize a tray-based tooth whitening system, you run the possibility of having irregular or spotty results. The next simplest tooth whitening approach is the whitening strip method. You place tooth bleaching tape on your front teeth. This tape is flexible, and contains the gel which bleaches the teeth. This is the most comfortable, least costly, and easiest to utilize tooth whitening method. This explains the popularity of this approach. Yet, often the possible results are not as good as those outcomes seen with the tray-based methods or in-office laser tooth whitening systems.

OTC tooth whitening products should in principle come up with the identical tooth whitening effect as a visit to a dentist office, however with a lessened concentration of the peroxide (5% - 10%), and over a longer period of time. This is partially true, but omits the reality that dentists utilize a laser tooth whitening system as well as bleach, something unavailable with OTC products.

Take Home Tray Whitening

With a take home tooth whitening tray technique, which the patient can perform at home, the dentist makes an impression for a model of the patient’s teeth. Later, a perfect fitting bleach tray is fitted from this impression. Lastly, a bleaching gel is prescribed by the dentist. At home, the bleaching gel is placed in the bleaching tray by the patient and the tray is subsequently worn for one to two hours at home at a convenient time by the tooth whitening patient. Because the bleaching tray is so custom fitted, this allows the bleaching gel to remain in contact with the teeth surface. Truly, this is the most significant aspect of the bleaching process and is the rationale why tray based bleaching systems have been so successful. This is maybe the most cost effective method of tooth whitening currently on hand.

An OTC kit is similar to the take home whitening tray fitted at the dentist’s office, but in this case, you are utterly on your own. You must closely follow all the instructions. This technique has been successful, but you must be careful. This technique is not recommended by the ADA.

Dentist-supervised laser tooth whitening

Contrasted to OTC products, dentists usually use a higher concentration of bleaching compound with a laser tooth whitening system like Britesmile® or Zoom® tooth whitening. With a laser whitening procedure, the exactly defined light frequency combined with a proprietary bleaching chemical produces particularly amplified whitening effects. With a procedure similar to Zoom® tooth whitening, a special bright laser light is shone on the teeth whitening gel for an hour. Laser light energy creates energy which initiates chemical reactions that cause the tooth whitening. A large number of people do a Zoom® tooth whitening once every six months.

A comparison of peroxide concentrations in tooth whitening

The following table will give the reader a broad understanding of the varying strengths of peroxides used in the various whitening systems.

Application	Agent	Professional/OTC	Concentration
In Office "power bleaching"	hydrogen peroxide carbamide peroxide	dentist dentist	15%-38% 35%
Night-time tray bleaching	carbamide peroxide hydrogen peroxide	dentist dentist	10%-22% 6-9.5%
whitening strips	hydrogen peroxide hydrogen peroxide	OTC dentist	5.3%-10% 6.5%-14%
paint on gels	carbamide peroxide hydrogen peroxide	OTC OTC	18% 19%

A comparison of all the tooth whitening systems

In the following table, we make an effort to summarize the relative effectiveness, prices, and benefits of the diverse tooth whitening systems.

Method	Effectiveness	Length of results	Treatment Duration	Side Effects	Tooth Type	Cost
Whitening strips	Whitens teeth slightly, might leave "lines"	1 year	7-14 days	Minimally sensitive teeth/gums	Slightly yellow teeth	$15
Brush on whitening gels	Somewhat better than regular toothpaste	Several weeks	7-14 days	Bad breath	Slightly yellow teeth	$3-$5
OTC gels	Improves with higher peroxide levels	1 year	1-3 weeks	Sensitive teeth/gums	Moderately yellow to dark teeth	$10
Bleaching done in dentist's office	Great for yellow teeth	3 yrs	1-2 mos.	Sensitive teeth/gums	Extremely dark teeth, which require professional evaluation	$300-$1000
Dentist supervised gel application	Great for yellow teeth	3 years	3-6 wks	Sensitive teeth/gums	Dark teeth, which needs a dentist-supervised evaluation	$300-$500
Crowns	Very effective for one tooth	10-15 years	1 month	feeling of tightness	Single tooth is decayed or broken	$600-$3000
Veneers	Very effective for just one tooth	10-15 years	3-4 weeks	feeling of tightness	Single tooth needs straightening	$500-$1200
Bonding	Very effective for just one tooth	5-10 years	1-2 weeks	Rare allergies	Single tooth needs minor reshaping	$300-$700

The ADA Seal of Acceptance

There are differing degrees of value to all these whitening systems. This is an area that the U.S. FDA does not become involved. Nevertheless, the American Dental Association (ADA) does set rules for tooth whitening products. The ADA guideline for a whitener requires that it not be bad to the soft tissues of the mouth or the teeth, and that a whitener can effectively whiten teeth. What we should know about the ADA seal of acceptance is that no OTC product has yet earned this coveted designation. Only particular tray-based dentist-dispensed products have the ADA Seal. In all the at-home tooth whiteners that have attained the ADA Seal, the active ingredient is a 10% carbamide peroxide solution.

Tooth Whitening Toothpaste

The most basic tooth whitening approach is tooth whitening toothpaste (which is a mix of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda). If you just want some simple maintenance of prior tooth whitening, then this is the way to go. But, if the difficulty is more deep rooted, then other tooth whitening systems should be looked into.

Three Main Approaches to Tooth Whitening

Despite the perplexing array of dentist and over the counter (OTC) products, there are in point of fact simply three (3) approaches to whitening one’s teeth:

• Dental in-office bleaching
• Self-applied night-time bleaching using a custom-fitted tray or a polyethylene strip
• Individual directed whitening using OTC bleaching products

There's not anything intrinsically superb or deficient regarding any of these three basic techniques - each procedure could yield nice results. You just can’t put a bleaching agent on your teeth without a good delivery method and presume it to work. The key to the most ideal outcomes in tooth whitening is the whitening agent delivery system. In all the tooth whitening methods, the tooth bleaching gel is kept in place by a system of delivery. This is with out a doubt necessary to keep the gel in contact with the surface of the tooth.

Conclusion

Whatever tooth whitening system you prefer, always seek the advice of your dentist and follow in detail all instructions. Review your circumstances. Only if you are looking for a little whitening of your teeth, then contemplate an OTC tooth whitening system. Provided that you truly desire a magnificent bright white smile, at that time your sole option is a cosmetic dentist.

If you have a further interest in tooth whitening methods, you may also want to look into teeth whitening procedures or in addition teeth whitening systems.