Teeth whitening has become increasing popular with over the counter products. Whitestrips have gotten better by providing faster results, whiter results and becoming easier to use. Some products can only be provided by the dental professional as a chairside procedure in a dental office with a laser.
Some toothpastes and mouth rinses also provide a way to whiten teeth. According to UNESP University in Brazil, Close Up White Now and the experimental mouth rinse with Plasdone showed some color alteration.
Toothpaste seem to show less coloration change compared to mouth rinses
Listerine and Colgate Plax Whitening, showed similar results to those observed after 14 days of bleaching with 10% carbomide peroxide treatment. I am not sure Colgate still makes Plax Whitening. It seems they now manufacture Optic White Whiteseal.
Products that provide short-term whitening have to applied more often
Some products you paint on the teeth, some products have the whitening agent on the trays which you wear for a specified time or overnight.
The ADA, American Dental Association, approves
dentist dispensed home use teeth whitening products that currently bear the ADA Seal contain 10 percent carbamide peroxide; however, participation in the program is not limited to products of this concentration or type of bleach.ADA approved whitening products must pass the following, but is not limited to:
- Enamel hardness testing
- Enamel morphology changes
- Restorative materials changes
- Kinetics of active ingredient release Toxicological evaluation
- Clinical evaluation: Two independent double blind trials
- In accordance with this guideline, they also included three clinical studies and eight safety studies.
None of the over-the-counter whitening products have the ADA seal.
Professionally applied tooth whitening bleach products use hydrogen peroxide in concentrations ranging from 15 percent to 35 percent and are sometimes used together with a light or laser, which the companies state accelerate or activate the whitening process.
Much of the information for teeth whitening is on Rxlist.com. A lot of information is already provided.
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A couple of years ago, I bought Crest Whitestrips at Walgreens and I found it to be very messy. I couldn't get the strips to stay on my teeth. I told my dentist this and he said that he had a procedure done in his office, where a light is shined on the teeth. I believe it is called Zoom. It cost a lot more than the Whitestrips, but my teeth were whiter within a couple of hours. I decided to go with it. I had to make another appointment, because the whitening would take over an hour to do.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came back for my appointment, a bunch of gauze was put around my teeth. I guess to keep my teeth dry and a mouth stretching gadget was put in my mouth. The Zoom light was to be put on my teeth three times for 15 minutes each time, which meant I had to sit very still. After two times with the light on my teeth, I got a bit nervous because my teeth were feeling hot. I really wanted my teeth whiter, so I tried to sit through a third time, but then motioned to them that I wanted the materials out of my mouth and stop.
It turns out that my teeth got whiter with the two times of shining the light, so I didn't need to do the third time. If I ever decided to do this again, I may not be as nervous because nothing bad happened to my teeth. It has been a couple of months since I had it done and my teeth are still whiter than before.
My dentist gave me treswhite by Opalescence. It was easy to use. The mouth trays already had the goop in them, so I didn't have to squeeze anything. I got 10 uses in the box. I've not been really good at using them continuously. I use them one night and then forget about it for a few days to a few weeks. I'm seeing only a little improvement in the color, so it's not keeping me motivated enough to use them daily. Maybe a catch-22.
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