Are Tooth Bleaching Kits Safe?

It must be said that teeth whitening methods in general will not be equally effective for everybody. It is always worth consulting your dentist before embarking on any course of treatment. Your dentist will be able to clarify which of the many options you are able to choose from. Some of them may not be effective in your particular situation.

The problem that people face is the seeming extra safety of having a procedure carried out by a dentist, against the major cost saving of home treatment. Will the home teeth whitening product be safe and will it be as effective to use? Is it easy to follow the instructions and will doing so prevent any possible side effects? What are the arguments?

To provide a safe products for home use, especially an over the counter product, the teeth gel is of lower concentration than you would get in a professional treatment. So one question that people ask is, with less of the active ingredients, can they produce worthwhile results? But there are also conspiracy theorist who question this.

Do some unscrupulous manufacturers use more of the bleaching agent than they admit to, to make their gel effective? It is even suggested that abrasive materials are added that can be potentially damaging to tooth enamel. I think that both of these theories can be discounted. If you stick to licensed products you should be OK. The risks of such practices, from massive fines and lawsuits, to withdrawal of the product license, would make it unthinkable.

Good companies carry out major clinical trials before making their products available to the public. Some quick research on their websites will bring up the results of these trials, and just to be sure, you can follow the links back to the source documents. It would be similarly costly to their bottom line and their reputation, to make claims that they cannot back up with solid evidence.

Most of these methods involve wearing a tray over your teeth containing the gel, for periods of thirty to sixty minutes. This may not be too uncomfortable, but it is inconvenient and you are not likely to go over the recommended time by much. Some of these products work overnight and the companies boast of how long their gel stays active, compared to their competitors.

There is more chance that you will be wearing the tray after the gel has become inactive, than that you will suffer any problems from over use. I think we can safely say that these products are regarded as safe. The other question is, will you get the same results that you would get from a couple of dental visits.

Once again, it is very hard for companies to make claims that they cannot back up. After all, if the product provided no benefit, there are millions of users who would be shouting it from the rooftops. So how good are the results, how quick and how long do they last?Two visits to your dentist and you are done. You go home with your new, gleaming smile. And with maintenance treatment, it can last for up to 15 years, but perhaps as short as 5.

Some of the home teeth gel treatments claim a noticeable difference after only one hour and that with repeated treatments that you can reach the same levels on the dental comparison charts that you would get from professional whitening. And they could last just as long. So, are they a worthwhile alternative?

It is always worth getting professional advice, but a home methods are definitely worth thinking about. And remember, you are not limited to over the counter products, your dentist can supply you with a customised solution.

This entry was posted on January 5, 2009 at 6:27 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.