Professional Teeth Whitening Vs Home RemediesOct 25 2016

Having sparkling pearly whites is the desire of many people. Sometimes it can be more difficult to achieve this goal. When it comes to teeth whitening, you have two options.

Professional whitening at the dentist and home remedies are both popular ways to whiten teeth. Which one is better, however? Is it worth going to your dentist to have them whiten them, or do the remedies actually work? Here we will look at both methods and will leave it up to you to decide what is best for you.

Professional Whitening

Whitening trays are used in all three methods of professional whitening. With the first method, the dentist will take a custom mold and place it firmly over your teeth. To make the procedure go faster, heat or light may be used.

The second method is making the custom trays, giving you the solution, and letting you take it home. These kits are especially make to fit your mouth and are worn whenever the dentist says is the right time. Custom made trays are also able to be tailored to your needs, especially if you have sensitive teeth.

Thirdly, the dentist will put a gel on the teeth and wait, just like they would do for the first method. They will wait about an hour before removing. Heat or light may also be used here.

Home Remedies

• Gel strips
  • Put on your teeth once a day for up to two hours, you need to use these from either 10 to 20 days, depending on the strength of the solution.
• Whitening toothpaste
  • This has ingredients that remove stains on the surface and might do some gradual whitening. These, however, can cause some people to develop sensitive teeth.
• Whitening trays
  • Much like the whitening trays from your dentist, you will put a gel into the provided molds and leave them for as long as the directions tell you to. Not being custom made, they do have the chance of irritating your gums.
• Whitening gum
  • Already chew a lot of gum? Switching to whitening gum can be beneficial. It is relatively new, and you might have to end up chewing quite a few pieces a day to get progress.
• Brush on whitening
  • Left overnight, these gels are applied directly to the teeth using a small brush.
• Whitening rinses
  • Rinses can help to prevent new stains from staying on your teeth. They contain a whitening agent that help your teeth to gradually become whiter.

While the home remedies may seem easier, there are risks. Tooth sensitivity is a likely thing that happens. Gum irritation or other issues may occur, so choose wisely. Overall, most these products will do the job.

However, most over the counter products will not be as effective as you can get at your dentist office. The rinses and toothpastes do not really do enough to have a significant impact on your teeth. It may be worth the extra visit to the dentist to get the job done right.