Home Teeth Whitening

Home teeth whitening is now so popular that almost 1 in 30 people in America will try a whitening product by the end of the year. Any we're not talking about 'toothpaste', we are talking about visits to the dentist, or more popularly, using a home tooth whitening product.

Over $2 billion will be spent on whitening/brightening teeth this year, and the most affordable, and hence most popular methods will be those that can be done at home. Home solutions include: toothpastes, whitening strips, whitening 'tray systems'. Let's have a look at each home tooth whitening product:

1. Whitening Toothpaste (entry-level teeth whitening product) -  some people have demonstrated a slight improvement in brightness, but because a toothpaste isn't exposed to your teeth for very long it isn't able to penetrate deep enough to have much effect. Also because whitening toothpastes are exposed to the entire oral cavity, they simply cannot include much of the targeted chemical ingredients required to oxidise and cleanse the enamel. So instead, many toothpastes use quite potent chemicals that actually act as abrasive that etch away the enamel, which is definitely an undesirable side-effect.
2. Whitening Strips are thin, flexible pieces of plastic that have been coated on one side with a thin film of hydrogen-peroxide bleach (normally 6-10% strength). They are pressed against the top and lower teeth and normally need to be worn for 30 mins a day (twice daily) for 7-14 days. They do work, but because they cannot get into all the nooks and crannies and gaps between teeth, the results can sometimes be less desirable than anticipated.
3. A 'tray' system (home tooth whitening kit) is one that uses a mouthpiece/tray in conjunction with a whitening gel. The gel contains anywhere from 6-30% hydrogen peroxide and the length of time you need to keep the tray in your mouth ranges from 15mins to overnight. This is the most effective type of home tooth whitening, so we will have a more in-depth look.