Pros and Cons of At-Home Tooth Whiteners
/So you need a Diet Coke every morning on your way to work. You’ve got a small candy jar at your desk. Once you’re home, you close your day with a glass of wine.
And God help us all if you don’t have your coffee.
All these habits are killing that pearly white smile of yours.
It’s also why at-home tooth whiteners are so popular. Canada Bay Dental offers several tooth whitening solutions, including the Zoom Teeth Whitening system, considered one of the best and most effective products on the market. Your smile will be noticeably different within an hour of your first appointment.
But at-home products are wildly popular, too. People love them for their convenience, plus you have some control over how great your smile looks afterward.
That’s both a blessing and a curse.
While at-home tooth whiteners are relatively safe, they can present problems, too.
Pros
- The price is right: People love the at-home products because of their affordability. These products are also easy to use and typically very effective.
- No set schedule: You don’t have to comply with a set schedule, although for best results, users are encouraged to commit to a regimented daily routine. This gives you the chance to whiten your teeth over several months or several weeks.
- Fast results: It shouldn’t take you long before you start seeing results, with most people reporting improvement within the first week.
Cons
- No set schedule: This is also a con. The reason? Your colour change is largely dependent upon wearing the whitening trays, so if you don’t follow a regimented routine, you might not get the results you were hoping for.
- Bad taste: Those trays have been known to cause some people to get sick to their stomach.
- Too much is just too much: You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to whiteners. Excessive use can make your teeth look translucent.
- Tooth sensitivity: Some people who use at-home tooth whiteners report experiencing sensitivity to hot and cold during the bleaching.
- Faster at the dentist: Your Canada Bay Dental dentist uses a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide and a special laser that activates the treatment. That’s why it typically takes less time to get your teeth whitened at the dentist’s office as opposed to using an at-home product.
Why Do You Need Whitener?
As Colgate says, the natural colour of your teeth is determined by the colour of the dentin under your enamel and the reflection and scattering of light off the enamel. So, how thick and smooth is your enamel? That depends on your genes, Colgate explains.
Every day, though, your enamel – or, more specifically, the things you ingest – work against your pearly whites. A thin coating called pellicle picks up stains on your enamel. Your enamel, Colgate says, also has pores that can pick up stains.
Dark coloured liquids are your worst enemy when it comes to keeping your teeth white. But tobacco, aging and proper dental hygiene also plays a part in it.
Every day, a thin coating (pellicle) forms on the enamel and picks up stains. Tooth enamel also contains pores that can hold stains. You can also develop stains inside your teeth, but whiteners are best on surface stains.
And, contrary to popular belief, tooth whiteners will not wear out your enamel.
The Final Prognosis
While a dentist can help you monitor your progress and steer you toward the best at-home products, you can’t go wrong by getting the procedure done at the dentist. It’s quick, easy, highly effective and generally takes less time to see results. Call Canada Bay Dental today to schedule your tooth whitening appointment.