Sunday, January 7, 2007
There are a number of tooth whitening products available both over the counter and through your dentist. Historically it has always been advised that you only use professional tooth whitening products under the supervision of your dentist but more recently an equally effective and far cheaper home based alternative has become available.
If you go to your dentist you will be offered the traditional tooth whitening approach which will involve the formulation of a mouth guard and an initial treatment of bleaching to start the whitening process. You will continue the treatment at home over a period of 2 – 4 weeks with each session of bleaching lasting around 1/2hr to an hour.
If you want a quicker but more expensive alternative then you can go for laser / zoom whitening which takes around an hour. The bleaching is completed in one session with the chemical being activated by a laser light. Zoom whitening can result in teeth several shades lighter than the cheaper alternative.
Over the counter products aren’t recommended by the American Dental Association. Their active bleaching ingredient tends to be hydrogen peroxide which means, given its harmful nature, the quantities contained in over the counter tooth whitening products aren’t significant enough to be that effective.
The only tooth whitening products available for home use that do have the ADA’s seal of approval are tray-based products that are available from your dentist. These tooth whitening products that have been approved by the ADA contain carbamide peroxide as the bleaching compound and not hydrogen peroxide.
You can now buy tray-based tooth whitening products off the internet which contain the carbamide bleaching compound which can offer you around a 70% saving over dentist based treatments which can set you back around $500. Companies who offer tray-based tooth whitening products believe that there is no clinical basis to support that professional or laser tooth whitening is better than tray based products.
Tray based tooth whitening products effectively consist of bleaching trays which are either pre moulded based on your teeth impressions or thermoformed which is reported to provide a much closer contact than lab moulded products (available from Express White). The pre-moulded trays are the same as the trays obtained through your dentist. The gel is applied to the inside of the mould which is then placed on your teeth for around two hours a day or while your sleep with noticeable results expected within 2 – 4 days.
Many manufacturers offer tooth whitening toothpastes. Tooth whitening toothpastes will help keep your teeth looking whiter but are not generally effective for physically whitening your teeth. Tooth whitening toothpastes tend to be abrasive as they work on removing stains rather than bleaching the teeth so it is advisable, in order to prevent damage to your teeth, to get your dentist to recommend a suitable product.
If you go to your dentist you will be offered the traditional tooth whitening approach which will involve the formulation of a mouth guard and an initial treatment of bleaching to start the whitening process. You will continue the treatment at home over a period of 2 – 4 weeks with each session of bleaching lasting around 1/2hr to an hour.
If you want a quicker but more expensive alternative then you can go for laser / zoom whitening which takes around an hour. The bleaching is completed in one session with the chemical being activated by a laser light. Zoom whitening can result in teeth several shades lighter than the cheaper alternative.
Over the counter products aren’t recommended by the American Dental Association. Their active bleaching ingredient tends to be hydrogen peroxide which means, given its harmful nature, the quantities contained in over the counter tooth whitening products aren’t significant enough to be that effective.
The only tooth whitening products available for home use that do have the ADA’s seal of approval are tray-based products that are available from your dentist. These tooth whitening products that have been approved by the ADA contain carbamide peroxide as the bleaching compound and not hydrogen peroxide.
You can now buy tray-based tooth whitening products off the internet which contain the carbamide bleaching compound which can offer you around a 70% saving over dentist based treatments which can set you back around $500. Companies who offer tray-based tooth whitening products believe that there is no clinical basis to support that professional or laser tooth whitening is better than tray based products.
Tray based tooth whitening products effectively consist of bleaching trays which are either pre moulded based on your teeth impressions or thermoformed which is reported to provide a much closer contact than lab moulded products (available from Express White). The pre-moulded trays are the same as the trays obtained through your dentist. The gel is applied to the inside of the mould which is then placed on your teeth for around two hours a day or while your sleep with noticeable results expected within 2 – 4 days.
Many manufacturers offer tooth whitening toothpastes. Tooth whitening toothpastes will help keep your teeth looking whiter but are not generally effective for physically whitening your teeth. Tooth whitening toothpastes tend to be abrasive as they work on removing stains rather than bleaching the teeth so it is advisable, in order to prevent damage to your teeth, to get your dentist to recommend a suitable product.
# posted by ebraheem @ 1:03 AM 
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