Health and Fitness Hub

Is Home Tooth Whitening Safe?

Written by health-and-fitness on January 27th, 2009

It must be said that teeth whitening methods in general will not be equally effective for everybody. It is always worth getting professional advice before starting 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 pros and cons?

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 manufacturers use higher concentrations of the bleaching agent than they state, to get results? It is even suggested that abrasive materials are added that can be potentially damaging to tooth enamel. I think that neither of these theories hold water. 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.

Reputable companies carry out massive clinical trials prior to releasing their products to the public. A little research on their websites will lead you to the results of these trials, and if you want to be ultra cautious, you can follow the links back to the original source documents. It would similarly hit their bottom line and their reputation, to put forward claims that they cannot substantiate.

The usual method is to wear a tray over your teeth containing the gel, for half an hour to an hour. Maybe this is not uncomfortable, but it is a bind and you probably won't do it for much longer than the recommended time to any great extent. some of these gels are for overnight use and the makers claim that their gel remains active longer than their competitors products.

If you wear the device for longer than recommended, the gel will probably have become inactive. I think we can safely say that these products can be 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 didn't work, there are millions of users who would be shouting about it. The question is how good are the results, how fast and how long lasting?After two dental visits, your treatment is complete and your teeth sparkling. And with appropriate aftercare, you may get 15 years from it, but it could be as little 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?

As I said at the start, it is worth consulting your dentist, but home whitening is definitely worth a shot. And of course, as well as over the counter products, your dentist can supply you with a customised solution.

Tags: home teeth whitening, Teeth Whitening, Teeth Whitening Gel, Teeth Whitening Products, tooth gel