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At Home Teeth Whitening
The alternative professional, in-office teeth whitening is a tooth-whitening kit that the patient takes home. The dentist first fits the patients for mouth trays and gives the patient a peroxide gel. The patient is instructed to fill the trays with the gel and leave them on the teeth for an extended period of time each day. Patients are usually given the option to wear the trays overnight or for 30 minutes twice per day. The whitening process usually takes two to three weeks.
There are also many over-the-counter methods of whitening, though they are generally less effective than the treatment a dentist can offer.
Over-the-counter whitening kits work in basically the same manner as the one that the dentist provides. There are two primary differences. The first is that, under the regulation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), these kits are only permitted to use gels with a moderate concentration of peroxide. Dentists are allowed to use gels – both in the take-home kits and in laser bleaching – that exceed this over-the-counter restriction. The second detractor to drugstore bleaching kits is that the mouthguards do not usually fit as well. They are self-fitted: the patient dunks them in hot water and then presses them into his or her own teeth. The poor fit can allow the gel to seep out, irritating the gums and mouth and reducing the effectiveness of the whitening process.
The other popular whitening product available in stores is whitening toothpaste. Toothpastes do not typically use chemical whitening agents; instead they rub off the enamel with abrasives, eliminating any stains that may have resided in the outer layer. However, this process is not nearly as effective in brightening teeth as other options, including over-the-counter bleaching kits.
