Best Teeth Whitening – An Overview

Making an informed decision about the best teeth whitening and best teeth whitener choices begins with understanding the basics of teeth whitening.  This post will address what tooth whitening is and how it works.

The best teeth whitening products employ a mild bleaching process that restores stained or discolored teeth to a healthy, natural color.  It is a procedure that can be done at the dentist’s office or at home, and tooth whitening is among the most popular cosmetic dental procedures available today because it can significantly improve the appearance of your teeth -  safely, quickly, and economically.

One of the fastest ways to improve your appearance, and one of the most affordable, is tooth whitening.  The best teeth whitening methods use oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to lighten the shade of the tooth.  Research and clinical studies show that the best teeth whitener procedures –  involving the use of peroxide and performed by a board-certified cosmetic dentist –  are safe for both the teeth and gums, although people under 16 years of age or pregnant women should not undergo teeth whitening.

The best teeth whitening product can remove stains and whiten teeth that have become discolored due to yellowing from age, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, medications and decay, and changes colored compounds into colorless ones by an oxidation process.  First a barrier cream is applied to protect the gums, then the whitening gel is applied to your teeth and a specially designed LED light is used to speed up the whitening process.  Depending on the severity of the discoloration, the results of the tooth whitening or bleaching process can last for months, although the procedure is more effective if you brush your teeth regularly.  Overall, the teeth whitener process is most effective on moderately discolored teeth.

Many dentists now offer teeth whitening in their office as part of the normal, everyday services they perform.  While whitening can be done in the dental office or at home, it is usually advisable that teeth whitening be carried out under the supervision of a dentist.  This is because teeth whitening, though safe, is still a complex treatment procedure that should be carried out by a dentist after thorough examination and assessment of your teeth.  Additionally, it is important that your gums are healthy before starting the teeth whitener process, so a quick check of your gums by a dental specialist is also in order.

This is not to say that the best home teeth whitening products and methods aren’t both popular and safe.  They are.  While not as effective as professional treatment, the best at home teeth whitening products do work to some degree and are an affordable option for many people.   The best teeth whitening kits, in fact, which are the ones that contain tray bleaching systems, approach professional treatment options in their effectiveness.  But even the best teeth whitening toothpaste, however, falls for short when compared to the effectiveness of professional whitening methods, or even when compared to other home whitening options. 

Even the best teeth whitening gel used during the teeth whitening process may cause some patients minor discomfort after treatment, and your teeth may be a little sensitive to hot or cold beverages.  But this effect does not last for long time, and any sensation should pass within a day or two of the procedure.  Overall, many dentists consider the best teeth whitening system to be among the safest cosmetic dental procedures available today.

Best Teeth Whitening Products

The search for the best teeth whitening products is the latest rage in the best teeth whitener field and has become indispensable to anyone who is tired of looking in the mirror at horrible and unattractive yellow teeth and instead desire brilliant white teeth.  There are basically five categories of teeth whitening products on the market: 1) tray bleaching systems; 2) whitening strips; 3) whitening sprays; 4) brush on gels; and 5) whitening toothpastes. 

Typically, the performance of these tooth whitening products is measured in terms of their effectiveness, comfort, ease of use, and the number of shades of color change.  The best teeth whitening products use carbamide peroxide and the effectiveness depends largely on the percentage of peroxide in the product combined with the amount of time the teeth whitening product is in contact with your teeth.

Teeth whitening product reviews show that of the five categories of tooth whitening products on the market, the least effective by far are the whitening toothpastes and whitening sprays.  Typically with this kind of teeth whitening product there is very little in the way of noticeable change to the color of the teeth.  Not surprisingly, most dentists consider these kinds of teeth whitening products to be ineffective as well.

Brush on gels are slightly more effective than toothpastes and sprays.  They have been found to be able to whiten teeth by about one shade of color.

Whitening strips fare somewhat better on the scale of best teeth whitening products, but are not without problems.  While they are slightly more effective than toothpastes, sprays and gels, and for a longer period of use, the whitening of the teeth is not uniform nor is the entire visible tooth actually bleached.

Far and away the best teeth whitening products are the tray bleaching systems.  The three best teeth whitener tray systems are:  1) the non-moldable; 2) the boil and bite; and 3) the professional.  Of the three, the professional tray bleaching system is the absolute best teeth whitening product, followed by the boil and bite, and then the non-moldable tray system.

The non-moldable tray bleaching system, while comfortable and easy to use, usually contains less peroxide than the other tray systems and typically can only yield three shades of color change.  Additionally the tooth whitening is often uneven, and is therefore not the best teeth whitener option.

The boil and bite tray bleaching systems employ custom made mouthpieces and a higher concentration of peroxide than the non-moldable systems.  Accordingly, they are found to achieve as much as 9 shades of color change.

Again, the professional tray bleaching systems are the top teeth whitening products.  The mouthpiece is custom fitted and is usually made from actual impressions of your teeth taken at home and then sent to a dental facility where the mouthpiece can be constructed.  A tooth whitening gel is then applied to the mouthpiece which is then placed on the teeth.  These teeth whitener systems are able to achieve a remarkable 11 shades of color change.

Choosing The Best Teeth Whitening Toothpaste

Does whitening toothpaste (such as Colgate Whitening toothpaste) really work?  The arguments for and against are many, but the short answer is, “it depends.”  To accurately answer this question it is helpful to realize that there are several underlying causes of yellowing teeth.  The best teeth whitening toothpaste can be effective in serving as a teeth whitener and in dealing with some of those causes, but not others.

The best whitening toothpaste generally contains abrasive materials that work to physically scrape stains off the surface of the teeth caused by food and drink.  These abrasives must be strong enough to remove the stains, but not too strong as to damage the tooth’s enamel.  While the best teeth whitener pastes on the market today strike the proper balance, there is whitening toothpaste available that is too abrasive and that can damage the enamel. 

These over abrasive toothpastes are to be avoided because the tooth whitening power and effectiveness of a teeth whitener toothpaste is diminished when it causes damage to the enamel of the teeth.  This is because discoloration is not always caused by food and drink.  Sometimes the cause of the discoloration lies below the surface of the tooth and is the result of discoloration of the dentin inside the tooth.   And when the abrasives contained in a whitening toothpaste damage the enamel of the teeth and reduce its thickness, it makes the yellowing of the dentin below the surface more visible.

So what do customers need to know when looking for the best teeth whitening toothpaste?  Simply that while the best teeth whitening toothpaste can effectively remove stains from the surface of the teeth, it can do nothing to reduce the yellowing of the dentin beneath the surface.  In fact, it might actually make the yellowing beneath the surface of the teeth more obvious by damaging the enamel through over abrasiveness.

The best tooth whitening toothpaste today tends to be the newer brands because they typically contain softer abrasives.  Also, there are some that are now employing methods other than abrasives for removing stains from the surface of teeth.  Either are a good choice when looking for the best teeth whitening toothpaste.